Negative use of falloir but also incorporating "...l'on..."

Martin S.B2Kwiziq community member

Negative use of falloir but also incorporating "...l'on..."

Interesting to read but I'm getting a bit stuck on "l'on" as in "il ne faut pas que l'on nous voie".  Why is the "l' " necessary? What does it refer to?

Asked 1 year ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Martin,

Maarten is correct! Follow the link here for a bit more details: Why the l in front of on in last sentence

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

It is 'euphonic'. Despite this, it is rarely used in everyday speech, although it remains in use in some more formal speech, and is still reasonably regularly seen in writing, from news articles to more formal material. 

See link : https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/on-vs-lon/

Negative use of falloir but also incorporating "...l'on..."

Interesting to read but I'm getting a bit stuck on "l'on" as in "il ne faut pas que l'on nous voie".  Why is the "l' " necessary? What does it refer to?

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