French Phrase
On veut de bonnes photos de l'événement.
Meaning
Literally, “We want good photos of the event.” The sentence is a casual way to express a request for quality pictures taken during a gathering, conference, wedding, or any organized occasion.
When to use
Use this phrase when you’re coordinating with a photographer, a friend who took pictures, or a team responsible for documenting an event. It’s informal but perfectly acceptable in most spoken contexts, especially among colleagues or friends.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Onveutdebonnesphotosdel'événement.
On (impersonal pronoun)
‘On’ is an informal pronoun that can mean ‘we’, ‘people’ or ‘one’, and it takes third‑person singular verb forms.
Vouloir (present tense)
‘Veut’ is the third‑person singular present of ‘vouloir’ (to want). With ‘on’ it means ‘we want’ in everyday speech.
De + adjective + noun
After ‘vouloir’, the partitive article changes to ‘de’ before an adjective‑noun phrase: ‘de bonnes photos’, not ‘des bonnes photos’.
Prepositional phrase ‘de l’événement’
‘de’ introduces the source or topic – here ‘of the event’. The elided article ‘l’’ contracts with the vowel‑starting noun.
🗨In Conversation
On veut de bonnes photos de l'événement.
We want good photos of the event.
Pas de problème, je les enverrai dès que possible.
No problem, I’ll send them as soon as possible.
✕Common Mistakes
On veut des bonnes photos de l'événement.
After ‘vouloir’, the partitive article changes to ‘de’ before an adjective; ‘des’ is incorrect here.
On voulez de bonnes photos de l'événement.
‘On’ takes third‑person singular, so the verb should be ‘veut’, not ‘voulez’ (second person).
On veut de bonnes photos de événement.
The preposition ‘de’ requires the article; dropping it (‘de événement’) is ungrammatical.
↔Alternatives
Nous voulons de belles photos de l'événement.
We want beautiful photos of the event.
On aimerait avoir de bonnes photos de l'événement.
We’d like to have good photos of the event.
Il nous faut de bonnes photos de l'événement.
We need good photos of the event.
Cultural Tip
In everyday French, ‘on’ replaces ‘nous’ in most spoken situations, giving the sentence a relaxed tone. Remember that after ‘vouloir’, ‘de’ replaces the usual partitive ‘des’ when an adjective precedes the noun – a common stumbling block for learners. Also, French speakers often add a polite ‘s’il vous plaît’ or ‘merci d’avance’ when making such a request.