Switching from On to Nous

White L.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Switching from On to Nous

The first two sentences of the exercise use "on" rather than "nous" for we.  Why is the "nous conjugation of the imperative verb (prenons) used rather than the "on" conjugation (prend)?  That is why "Prenons un selfie"... rather than "Prend un selfie"...?

Asked 3 months ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

I think I understand the confusion White, in the imperative there are only 3 forms -

in the case of ‘prendre’ -

Prends ! = Take!  (for a person you say ‘tu’ to )

Prenons ! = Let's take!  (the only nous form ) 

Prenez ! Take! ( for a person you would say ‘vous’ to or addressing several people.

Hope this helps!

 

 

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Bonjour White,

I see this "Prenons un selfie" as being equivalent to "let's  --> let us"

It is not an instruction but more of an enthusiastic suggestion from one person to the other.

On can mean either we/one/people (French Subject Pronouns)

Nous vs on to say "we" in French (French Subject Pronouns)

I hope this helps.

Bonne journée

Jim

Switching from On to Nous

The first two sentences of the exercise use "on" rather than "nous" for we.  Why is the "nous conjugation of the imperative verb (prenons) used rather than the "on" conjugation (prend)?  That is why "Prenons un selfie"... rather than "Prend un selfie"...?

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