Agreement of past participle with "on" in compound past tense

James M.C1Kwiziq community member

Agreement of past participle with "on" in compound past tense

Il m'a emmené dans un bar branché du centre-ville, où on est restés jusqu'à deux heures du matin !  Why is "restes" plural when is singular even though it means "we"?  
Asked 3 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi James, 

Just to add to Chris' comments, here is the lesson on the different uses of the pronoun 'on' and the rules of agreements.

On = we, one, people

 

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

When on is used to mean "we", the verb is singular but any participle will be plural. Weird, I know, but that's just how it is.

Agreement of past participle with "on" in compound past tense

Il m'a emmené dans un bar branché du centre-ville, où on est restés jusqu'à deux heures du matin !  Why is "restes" plural when is singular even though it means "we"?  

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