French Phrase
On est vingt-cinq étudiants.
Meaning
The sentence means “We are twenty‑five students.” It uses the informal pronoun ‘on’ to refer to a group of speakers, and the verb ‘être’ stays singular (est) even though the group is plural.
When to use
Use this phrase when introducing a class, a study group, or any collective of students in a casual conversation, especially in spoken French or informal writing.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Onestvingt-cinqétudiants
On as informal 'we'
In spoken French, 'on' replaces 'nous' and takes a third‑person singular verb, even when it refers to a group.
Verb agreement with 'on'
Because 'on' is grammatically singular, the verb stays in the singular form (est) regardless of the plural meaning.
Hyphenated numbers
Numbers from 21 to 99 are written with hyphens (e.g., vingt‑cinq).
Noun after numbers
Nouns are plural after most numbers (except 1). After 21, 31, etc., the noun is singular, but after 20‑69 it stays plural, so 'vingt‑cinq étudiants' is correct.
🗨In Conversation
Bonjour, qui êtes‑vous dans la classe de français ?
Hello, who are you in the French class?
On est vingt‑cinq étudiants.
We are twenty‑five students.
✕Common Mistakes
On sont vingt‑cinq étudiants.
The verb must stay singular with ‘on’; ‘on sont’ is incorrect.
On est vingt cinq étudiants.
Numbers from 21 onward are hyphenated in French.
On est vingt‑cinq étudiant.
The noun must agree in number with the quantity; use the plural form.
↔Alternatives
Nous sommes vingt‑cinq étudiants.
We are twenty‑five students.
Il y a vingt‑cinq étudiants.
There are twenty‑five students.
Nous formons un groupe de vingt‑cinq étudiants.
We form a group of twenty‑five students.
Cultural Tip
In everyday French, ‘on’ is the go‑to pronoun for ‘we’ because it sounds more natural and less formal than ‘nous’. However, in written or formal contexts you’ll still see ‘nous sommes’. Remember that the verb never changes to the plural form when ‘on’ is used, even if the meaning is plural.