On y va / Allons-y

    • On y va = familiar version (the most said in everyday conversation)
    Allons-y = more formal version (a bit old-fashioned nowadays, as on has progressively replaced nous in spoken French).
     
    Personnellement, je préfère allons-y.
    Je pense vraiment que on y va convient mieux aux phrases déclaratives et non impératives. ( dans le sens de here we go = c'est parti).
    Mais c'est peut-être moi...
     
    Bonjour tout le monde. Voilà ma première contribution.

    I've been confused on the two colloquial expressions discussed here for a bit, so I was hoping someone might answer a few follow up questions.

    1) Is the "y" on allons-y purely colloquial, like the "y" in "il y avoir"? If not, what does it refer to in its pronom role?

    2) Does "Allons!" have any useful meaning without that "-y" tacked on?

    3) What is most appropriate to say to my cat as "encouragement" when we're walking to her food for dinner? I've generally said "Allons-y!," but Agnès mentioned above it may be somewhat formal.

    Merci bien!
     
    esprit de l'escalier said:
    1) Is the "y" on allons-y purely colloquial, like the "y" in "il y avoir"? If not, what does it refer to in its pronom role?
    Click to expand...
    Literally, the "y" means "there".
    Therefore, allons-y normally means let's go there, as in
    - Nous pourrions aller à Nantes
    - Oui, allons-y.
    (where "y" refers to "Nantes")

    However, most of the time allons-y just means let's go in the sense of let's proceed, the underlying idea being let's go...wherever we're going.

    I wouldn't say allons-y is really colloquial. It's rather standard.
     
    LV4-26 said:
    I wouldn't say allons-y is really colloquial. It's rather standard.
    Click to expand...
    I definitely agree with LV4-26 : Allons-y isn't colloquial at all.
    It can be used to go somewhere : Allons-nous à la plage? Oui, allons-y ! ( y = the seaside)
    or to start to do something : Commençons-nous à cuisiner maintenant? Oui, allons-y ! ( y = to cook)
     
    Thank you both for the replies. EnIrAc's "cuisiner" example was particularly illustrative of the broad sense of usage.

    I think maybe I meant to ask if it was somewhat "idiomatic," rather than "colloquial." But perhaps I should just go parler français and stop worrying about that so much.
     
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