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How to Say ‘We ate at a restaurant.’ in French

On a mangé au restaurant.

on a mahn-ZHAY oh res-toh-RAHN

[on a mahn-ZHAY oh res-toh-RAHN]

Phrase Breakdown

On a mangé

on a mahn-ZHAY

We ate

'On' is the casual spoken form of 'nous' (we). 'A mangé' is the passé composé of 'manger'. Link 'On a' smoothly: 'on-na'.

Example

On a mangé ensemble hier.

We ate together yesterday.

Words in this phrase

[on]

Used by a speaker to refer to themself and one or more other people considered together.

Example

On y va maintenant.

We are going now.

[a]

have

Possess, own, or hold something.

Example

Vous avez un stylo?

Do you have a pen?

mangé

[mahn-ZHAY]

eaten / ate

Past participle of 'manger' (to eat).

Example

J'ai mangé une pomme.

I ate an apple.

au restaurant.

oh res-toh-RAHN

at the restaurant

'Au' is 'à' + 'le' and sounds like 'oh'. In 'restaurant' the final 't' is silent and the ending is nasal.

Example

Je vais au restaurant ce soir.

I'm going to the restaurant tonight.

Words in this phrase

[oh]

at the

A phrase used to indicate location, time, or a condition.

Example

Elle est au parc.

She is at the park.

restaurant

[res-toh-RAHN]

restaurant

A place where meals are served to customers.

Example

Ce restaurant est très connu.

This restaurant is very well known.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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