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Depuis quand est-ce que les deux musiciens se regardent l'un l'autre ?

Depuis quand est-ce que les deux musiciens se regardent l'un l'autre ?
Since when do the two musicians look at each other?
From Lesson 249:Explicit reciprocity (l'un l'autre)·French

Questions & Answers about Depuis quand est-ce que les deux musiciens se regardent l'un l'autre ?

Why use l'un l'autre here if se regardent already translates to "look at each other"?
The pronoun se before regardent can mean either "themselves" (reflexive) or "each other" (reciprocal). Without extra context, ils se regardent could mean "they are looking at themselves" (for example, in a mirror). Adding l'un l'autre explicitly clarifies that they are looking at each other, removing any ambiguity.
Why is it l'un l'autre instead of les uns les autres?
Because there are exactly two people involved (les deux musiciens). You use the singular l'un l'autre for two people or things, and the plural les uns les autres when there is a group of three or more.
Why is the verb se regardent in the present tense?
In French, if an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use depuis (since/for) with the present tense. English usually uses the present perfect continuous for this ("have been looking"), which is why it can feel tricky to translate directly!
If the two musicians were women, would l'un l'autre change?
Yes! The phrase l'un l'autre agrees with the gender of the subject. If they were both female musicians (les deux musiciennes), it would become l'une l'autre. If the pair was one man and one woman, it would stay masculine (l'un l'autre).

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