On = we, one, people

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).

Hi paola,

This is a third party resource so we have no control over it but a good point nevertheless.

I would argue that if you use 'ce que l'on ' ( which could have been 'ce qu'on') you should have 'on n'a' ( with the 'ne' explétif ) to keep the same register .

On n'a que ce que l'on mérite...

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 Eve,

The verb 'falloir' only has one form - an impersonal il ---- Il faut

It is similar in meaning to the impersonal 'on doit ..."

If you also look at my answer to a similar question: 

https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/questions/view/il-faut-1

Hope this helps!

Hi Shari,

'On ne peut pas stationner ici'    is     'You cannot park here'...

The you here applies to everyone, in other words,  it is forbidden to park here.

It is a bit like: 

On ne sait jamais ce que nous réserve l'avenir = You never know what the future holds

Which is a saying for a truth that applies to everyone.

Not sure what you mean about the verb tense not matching...

Thanks, Cécile.  I selected all three in my quiz answer - One, You and We - but the answer was just One and You.  I was trying to figure out how I could decipher why We was not included and thought the form of the conjugation (sorry, not tense) ‘peut’ might be an indication.  But ‘peut’ matches the third person spelling so that left me with the question of why You and not We.

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.

Hi Ayushi - I can see a kwiz so if this is still an issue for you, please take a screenshot and send it in to support. Many thanks!

Okay!

Yes, it would be wrong. "On" always and without exception takes the verb in 3rd person singular.

merci beaucoup :)

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

-- Chris. 

Hi - I just checked and this seems fine. Is this still happening for you?

"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).

Thank you, that's very helpful.