📖LearnModule 11 · Lesson 17 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 4 · La voix passive — et comment le français l'évite
On — the French escape hatch
Module 11 of the free French course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 17 of 30: Where English reaches for the passive. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 17.
The words
French
English
Say it
on m'a dit que
I was told that
oh(n) mah DEE kuh
on dit que
they say that
oh(n) DEE kuh
on construit une école
a school is being built
oh(n) koh(n)-strwee ewn ay-KOHL
on ne sait jamais
you never know
oh(n) nuh seh zhah-MEH
la rumeur
the rumor
lah rew-MUHR
le bruit qui court
the story going around
luh brwee kee KOOR
anonyme
anonymous
ah-noh-NEEM
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Where English reaches for the passive, French reaches for on: on m'a dit que… (I was told that…), on construit une école (a school is being built), on parle français ici.
Et aussi · And also
On also stands in for nous in speech — on y va, on a mangé — so context decides whether it means "someone", "people in general" or "we".
Attention · Watch out
on m'a dit que is French for I was told that — on with an active verb where English uses the passive. on ne sait jamais is fixed: you never know.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with on m'a dit que.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 17 in Module 11 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.