Nous allons en parler avec nos amis.

Breakdown of Nous allons en parler avec nos amis.

l'ami
the friend
avec
with
nous
we
aller
to go
nos
our
en parler
to talk about

Questions & Answers about Nous allons en parler avec nos amis.

Why does French use allons + parler here instead of just one future-tense verb?

Nous allons parler is the near future in French: aller + infinitive.

  • nous allons parler = we are going to talk
  • nous parlerons = we will talk

Both can refer to the future, but aller + infinitive is very common in everyday spoken French and often feels a bit more immediate or natural in conversation.

So in this sentence:

  • Nous allons en parler = We’re going to talk about it
What does en mean in this sentence?

Here, en is a pronoun that replaces de + thing/idea.

The verb parler often uses de when you say what you are talking about:

  • parler de ce problème = to talk about this problem
  • en parler = to talk about it

So en means something like about it, about that, or of it, depending on the context.

Example:

  • Nous allons parler de ce film.
  • Nous allons en parler.

In the second sentence, en replaces de ce film.

Why is it en parler and not parler en?

French object pronouns usually go before the infinitive when you have a structure like aller + infinitive.

So:

  • Nous allons en parler
  • Nous allons parler en

A good pattern to remember is:

  • je vais le voir
  • nous allons en parler
  • elle va y aller

The pronoun belongs with the infinitive, and it comes before it.

Why is it parler avec nos amis instead of parler à nos amis?

Both avec and à can appear with parler, but they do not emphasize exactly the same thing.

  • parler à quelqu’un = to speak to someone
  • parler avec quelqu’un = to speak with someone

In your sentence, avec nos amis suggests a conversation or discussion involving the friends.

So:

  • Nous allons en parler avec nos amis = We’re going to talk about it with our friends

If you said à nos amis, it would sound more like speaking to them rather than discussing it together.

What is the role of nous here?

Nous is the subject pronoun meaning we.

It tells you who is doing the action:

  • Nous = we
  • allons = are going

Because the subject is nous, the verb aller must be conjugated as allons.

The full conjugation of aller in the present is:

  • je vais
  • tu vas
  • il/elle/on va
  • nous allons
  • vous allez
  • ils/elles vont
Why is it nos amis and not something else?

Nos is the possessive adjective meaning our.

It agrees with the noun that follows:

  • ami = friend
  • amis = friends
  • nos amis = our friends

French possessive adjectives change according to the noun, not according to the owner. For our, you get:

  • notre
    • singular noun
  • nos

So:

  • notre ami = our friend
  • nos amis = our friends
How would this sentence be different if it used the simple future: Nous en parlerons avec nos amis?

That version is also correct.

  • Nous allons en parler avec nos amis = We’re going to talk about it with our friends
  • Nous en parlerons avec nos amis = We will talk about it with our friends

The difference is mostly one of style and nuance:

In many situations, both are possible.

Is parler one of those verbs that needs de for the topic?

Yes, very often.

When you say what the topic is, French commonly uses:

That is why en is used here: it replaces something introduced by de.

Compare:

  • Nous parlons de ce projet.
  • Nous en parlons.

But French also has:

  • parler à quelqu’un = speak to someone
  • parler avec quelqu’un = speak with someone

So parler can combine with different prepositions depending on the meaning.

Where is the negation placed if I want to say We are not going to talk about it with our friends?

You would say:

With aller + infinitive, the ne ... pas goes around the conjugated verb:

Not around parler.

So:

  • Nous allons en parler = We are going to talk about it
  • Nous n’allons pas en parler = We are not going to talk about it
How is this sentence pronounced? Are there any liaisons?

Yes, there is a common liaison in nous allons:

  • nous allons → roughly noo-zah-lon

A simple pronunciation guide for the whole sentence is:

  • Nous allons en parler avec nos amis
  • roughly: noo-zah-lon ahn par-lay ah-vek no-zah-mee

A few notes:

  • nous sounds like noo
  • the s in nous links to allons: nous-z-allons
  • en is nasal: ahn
  • parler ends with an ay sound
  • nos amis also has liaison: no-zah-mee
Could French speakers also say this with on instead of nous?

Yes, very often in spoken French.

Instead of:

you will often hear:

  • On va en parler avec nos amis

In everyday spoken French, on often means we. It is less formal and extremely common.

So:

  • nous allons = more standard/written or careful spoken French
  • on va = very common in everyday speech
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