on n'est pas secoués dans tous les sens

Megan H.C1Kwiziq community member

on n'est pas secoués dans tous les sens

Hi I have two questions regarding the phrase 'on n'est pas secoués dans tous les sens'.  

1.  why is there an 'e' on the end of secoué?  I would have thought that it should be the third person singular of 'on'.

2.  What is the meaning of 'secoué dans tous les sens'?  Does it mean 'shaken about all over the place'?

Asked 3 years ago
Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Hi Megan,

"secoué" is an adjective relating to the subject "On" where "on" is, in this case, more than one person.

We were not shaken/agitated all over the place  --> On n'est pas secoués dans tous les sens.

The past participle "secoués" is acting as an adjective

Nous vs on (subject pronouns)

 

Hope this helps,

Jim

Kingsley W.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Would "on" always be considered as multiple people in this context to a french ear? Could it also be considered as a more general "you're" or "one" like it would in english? 

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

On can stand for a colloquial "we" -- in this case it requires the plural in adjectives and participles. Or it can be a more general "one" or "mankind", then it needs the singular. Here it is the colloquial version of "we" and therefore needs the plural. There's a lesson on this here: On can mean either we/one/people (French Subject Pronouns)

on n'est pas secoués dans tous les sens

Hi I have two questions regarding the phrase 'on n'est pas secoués dans tous les sens'.  

1.  why is there an 'e' on the end of secoué?  I would have thought that it should be the third person singular of 'on'.

2.  What is the meaning of 'secoué dans tous les sens'?  Does it mean 'shaken about all over the place'?

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