French Phrase
On va peut‑être avoir besoin de plus de snacks.
Meaning
The sentence expresses a tentative future need: ‘We might need more snacks.’ The speaker is not certain yet, but is considering the possibility.
When to use
Use this phrase when planning a gathering, a road‑trip, or any situation where you’re discussing food supplies and want to suggest that more snacks could be required.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Onvapeut‑êtreavoirbesoindeplusdesnacks
On (impersonal pronoun)
Used like 'we' in casual French; can refer to people in general or a specific group.
Future proche (va + infinitive)
‘Va’ + infinitive expresses a near future action, similar to ‘going to’ in English.
Peut‑être (adverb)
Means ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’; placed before the infinitive it modifies.
Avoir besoin de + infinitive
A set phrase meaning ‘to need to …’; the infinitive follows directly after ‘besoin de’.
Plus de (comparative)
Indicates a larger quantity; followed by a noun without an article.
Snacks (borrowed noun)
A modern loan‑word from English; in formal contexts you might use ‘collations’.
🗨In Conversation
On va peut‑être avoir besoin de plus de snacks.
We might need more snacks.
D’accord, je vais en acheter quelques paquets.
Okay, I’ll buy a few packs.
✕Common Mistakes
On va peut être avoir besoin de plus de snacks.
‘Peut‑être’ is an adverb and must be written with a hyphen; writing it as two words changes the meaning.
On va être avoir besoin de plus de snacks.
‘Va être’ would form a future simple (‘will be’) and is incorrect here; the correct construction is ‘va + infinitive’.
On va peut‑être avoir besoin de plus de snack.
‘Snack’ is singular; the phrase calls for the plural ‘snacks’ because ‘plus de’ implies a quantity greater than one.
↔Alternatives
Il se peut qu’on ait besoin de plus de snacks.
It may be that we need more snacks.
Nous pourrions avoir besoin de plus de snacks.
We could need more snacks.
On pourrait avoir besoin de plus de snacks.
We might need more snacks.
Cultural Tip
In everyday French, ‘snacks’ is widely understood, especially among younger speakers, but in formal or culinary contexts you’ll hear ‘collations’ or ‘en-cas’. Also, French speakers often prefer to specify the type (e.g., ‘des biscuits’, ‘des chips’) rather than using the generic English word.