French Phrase
On devrait les envoyer la semaine prochaine.
Meaning
It means 'We should send them next week.' The speaker is proposing a plan or mild obligation to dispatch something (documents, parcels, etc.) in the upcoming week.
When to use
Use this sentence when discussing future plans that involve sending items, especially in a professional or collaborative context where you want to suggest a timeline without sounding too forceful.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Ondevraitlesenvoyerlasemaineprochaine.
On (pronoun)
Informal pronoun that can mean 'we', 'one', or 'people in general' in spoken French.
devrait (conditional of devoir)
The conditional form of devoir expresses a suggestion, mild obligation, or probability: 'should' or 'ought to'.
les (direct object pronoun)
Stands for a plural masculine or mixed-gender object previously mentioned; placed before the infinitive.
envoyer (infinitive)
The base form of the verb meaning 'to send' or 'to dispatch'.
la semaine prochaine (time expression)
A fixed temporal phrase meaning 'next week', placed after the verb in most neutral statements.
🗨In Conversation
Quand est‑ce qu’on doit envoyer les dossiers ?
When should we send the files?
On devrait les envoyer la semaine prochaine.
We should send them next week.
✕Common Mistakes
On devrais les envoyer la semaine prochaine.
With the pronoun "on" you must use the third‑person singular conditional "devrait", not the first‑person "devrais".
On devrait envoyer les la semaine prochaine.
The object pronoun must stay before the infinitive; placing it after ("envoyer les") would change the structure and sound unnatural in this construction.
↔Alternatives
Il faut les envoyer la semaine prochaine.
We need to send them next week.
Nous devrions les expédier la semaine prochaine.
We ought to ship them next week.
La semaine prochaine, on les enverra.
Next week, we'll send them.
Cultural Tip
In everyday French, "on" is the go‑to pronoun for "we" in informal speech, even in business settings. The conditional "devrait" softens the suggestion, making it sound polite and less commanding. Remember to keep the object pronoun "les" before the infinitive "envoyer"; moving it after would be ungrammatical.