Question 1

The translation says 'we have to', so why are we using on instead of nous?

Accepted Answer

In everyday spoken French, on is very commonly used to mean 'we', even though it technically means 'one' or 'people in general'. The important rule is that when you use on, you always conjugate the verb exactly as you would for il (he) or elle (she).

Question 2

How is the verb devoir (to have to) conjugated in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Devoir is an irregular verb, which means it doesn't follow a standard pattern. For il, elle, and on, the correct form is doit. So, on doit gives us 'we have to' or 'one has to'.

Question 3

Why does travailler end in '-er' here instead of being conjugated?

Accepted Answer

When you have two verbs paired together like this, only the first verb is conjugated (doit). The second verb stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form (travailler). This is just like English where we say 'we have to work' instead of 'we have we work'.

Question 4

Could on doit travailler also be translated as 'we must work'?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In French, the verb devoir covers both 'to have to' and 'must'. You can translate this sentence as either 'we have to work' or 'we must work', depending on what feels most natural to you.

On doit travailler aujourd'hui.

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