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On prépare un grand pique-nique pour demain.

On prépare un grand pique-nique pour demain.
We are preparing a big picnic for tomorrow.
From Lesson 66:Informal 'we' (on)·French

Questions & Answers about On prépare un grand pique-nique pour demain.

Why does the sentence use on instead of nous for 'we'?
In spoken and informal French, on is used much more often than nous to say 'we'. Even though it means 'we' here, you must always match it with the same verb ending you would use for il or elle (he or she). That is why it is on prépare and not on préparons.
Why does grand come before pique-nique? I thought French adjectives usually go after the noun.
You are right that most French adjectives come after the noun! However, there is a small group of common short adjectives that go before the noun. You can remember them with the acronym BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size). Since grand describes size, it goes in front of pique-nique.
The translation says 'are preparing', but prépare is just the present tense. Why is there no word for 'are'?
French only has one present tense, which covers both English present tense forms. On prépare can mean 'we prepare' or 'we are preparing'. You do not need to add a translation for 'are', you just use the context of the sentence to know which one sounds better in English!
Is pique-nique related to the English word 'picnic'?
Yes, they mean the same thing! It was borrowed, but the spelling was adapted using qu to keep the hard 'k' sound. When you say it, make sure to give it a French accent by pronouncing both halves equally, sounding like 'peek-neek'.

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