Agreement of Past Participle with ON and EN

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Agreement of Past Participle with ON

ON means ONE, WE, THEY. However, the rule states that ON is  generally conjugated as IL.

In the passé composé, the past participle remains masculine and singular.

• On a parlé français dans ce magasin avant.

…………. They  used to speak French in that store.

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In everyday French though, and with reflexive verbs, the past participle sometimes becomes feminine and/or plural

• On est allés au cinéma. (talking about 2 men going to the movies)
• On est allées au cinéma. (talking about 2 women going to the movies)

…………. We went to the movies.

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Agreement of Past Participle with EN

EN means SOME. The rule states that the past participle agrees with the object if the Direct Object Complement is before the verb.

• J’ai mangé les pommes. –> Je les ai mangées.

…………. I ate the apples. –> I ate them.

However, if the Direct Object Complement happens to be EN, there is no agreement.

• J’ai mangé des pommes. –> Je les ai mangées. –> J’EN ai mangé.

…………. I ate apples. –> I ate them. –> I ate some.

• J’ai vu tous les musées. –> Je les ai tous vus. –> J’EN ai vu.

…………. I saw all the museums. –> I saw them all. –> I saw some.

Related: Past Participle Agreements

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