"He was not..." cannot be a translation of on, since, as you point out on cannot mean "he".

If that doesn't answer your question, maybe include the full sentence you feel you were graded wrongly.

On is the impersonal third person, like "one" is in English.

On ne devrait pas parler la bouche pleine. -- One shouldn't talk with full mouth.

In spoken French, on is also frequently used as a colloquial replacement for nous.

On va au cinéma? -- Are we going to the movies?

I think this is in reference to the first practice question in this lesson. I also did not choose the option that implies "on" means "you" in English. I think "on" actually means "one" here, but English speakers often incorrectly or colloquially say "you" in place of "one".

If it is multiple choice, than instead of circles next to answers, it will be squares. Just a tip :)

I guess that the options to the multiple choice question don't necessarily have to contain all possibly correct answers. You're just supposed to choose from among those given. But I can't tell for sure because I don't know the exact question and set of answers.

Thanks Chris for taking the time to respond. My apologies for not including the set of answer choices that came with the question. I will post them when I find them :). Great day to you!

I'm not sure what you mean by where? In what kind of situation? On is more informal than nous. So in writing and formal situations, you'd use nous more often while you'd use on in casual conversations and writing (like texts and emails to a friend).

Yes, pense-t-on means "Does one think..."

It could also mean "Do we think" but the inverted form of the question, which is used primarily in a higher register of French, clashes with the more colloquial use of on meaning "we".

So, to make a question, just inflect `On dit/peut dire que Caligula était fou? 

Good point about mixed registers, thanks.

Vous as a plural pronoun adresses a specific group. You--group of people--that I'm talking to right now. On is more general and also more...all encompassing, for lack of a better word. 

To illustrate this with a sentence:

Vous ne devriez pas vous battre-- You two people that I'm talking to shouldn't fight.

On ne devrait pas se battre-- People in general shouldn't fight

I hope that helps (and makes sense).

Technically on is the equivalent on "one" meaning one hypothetical person. In English, we also conjugate this in the third person singular. "One is" not "One are" even though "One is responsible for ones own life" can very well mean "We (people) are responsible for our own lives). 

Of course on is also used in ways one cannot be used, to mean we. My guess (and this is just that, a guess) is that the plural usage of on came into use long after its conjugation in third person singular was established and people just kept saying "On est" even in cases where it means "we". It is indeed interesting to think about

so they can be interchangeably  but french speakers use ''on'' on daily basis. while ''nous'' is used mostly for very formal and written form?

Thanks for you reply.

When we want to say 'we', it is more elegant to use 'nous' instead of 'on', but when we want to say 'you/one/people' in formal writing , can we use 'on'? 

Interesting.

I think the "normal" idiom in French is:

"On n'a que ce que l'on mérite." (literally: one only has that which one deserves).

For the purposes of that video, and to bring it into line with the English idiom, I think the n' has been removed, but not the "que".

I think it should read:

"On a ce que l'on mérite." (literally: one has that which one deserves).

So the orator didn't pronounce the first que, because he didn't think it was there. If he knew it was there, he would have removed it (that's what I think has happened here anyway).

You can say either:

On doit dormir la nuit. Or Il faut dormir la nuit.

Il faut already means "one must" or "it is necessary".

Hi Shari,

All 3 are correct - I just tried the question myself and it accepted all 3.

With these multiple selection questions, I sometimes find that one of the answers I was sure I had selected is missing. Then it can be confusing when you compare the correct answer with what you supposedly entered. Maybe that's happened to you.

I have a feeling there may be a bug somewhere - perhaps if you click on the answers too quickly.

Salut 

My question was mainly about when do I use  L  and when I should use  T. Is there a rule or can I use them interchangeably?

Merci

Sometimes you know because the participle or an adjective gives it away. Simetimes you only know from context. 

-- Chris. 

"On" can be used as an informal "we" or a more impersonal, general subject like the English "one". Depending on which one it is, one uses either the plural (when used as "we") or the singular (when used as "one").

On est allés au cinéma hier soir. -- We went to the movies yesterday evening.
Olivier et moi, on est mariés. -- Oliver and I, we are married.
Quand on est poli, on accueille les invités. -- If one is polite, one welcomes the guests.

The first two sentences are examples of "on" meaning "we"; the last one features "on" as "one".

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Hi Judy, 

the lesson is about "on", hence I suspect the answer is looking for a construction using it. 

On sort -- Are we going out. 

Nous sortons? -- Are we going out (using nous in place of on). 

Va-t-on sortir? -- Are we going to go out?

Allons-nous sortir? Are we going to go out (using nous). 

"Allons-nous sort" is incorrect because need the infinitive (sortir) after the conjugated verb. "Sortir" means "to go out" it can't be used as an adjective for "out". 

-- Chris (not a native speaker).