Question 1

If ils s'aident already means "they help each other", why add les uns les autres?

Accepted Answer

Reflexive verbs can be ambiguous. Ils s'aident could technically mean "they help themselves" (each person doing it for themselves) or "they help each other". Adding les uns les autres makes it explicitly reciprocal: they are doing the action to one another.

Question 2

Why is it les uns les autres instead of l'un l'autre?

Accepted Answer

In French, you use the singular l'un l'autre when exactly two people are involved (meaning "each other"). You use the plural les uns les autres when referring to three or more people (meaning "one another").

Question 3

Does the phrase les uns les autres ever change depending on the verb?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Because the verb aider takes a direct object (aider quelqu'un), there is no preposition used here. But if the verb required a preposition, like parler à (to talk to), that preposition would go in the middle, becoming les uns aux autres.

Question 4

Why is it de l'eau rather than just l'eau?

Accepted Answer

This is the partitive article, which acts like "some" in English. Because water is an uncountable noun and they aren't drinking all the water in the universe, you must use de l' (since eau starts with a vowel) rather than the definite article l'.

Question 5

How do I pronounce the verb endings in boivent and s'aident?

Accepted Answer

The -ent ending on third-person plural verbs is completely silent! You pronounce boivent as "bwav" and aident as "ed".

Ils boivent de l'eau et ils s'aident les uns les autres.

Breakdown of Ils boivent de l'eau et ils s'aident les uns les autres.

Questions & Answers about Ils boivent de l'eau et ils s'aident les uns les autres.

Learn Ils boivent de l'eau et ils s'aident les uns les autres and more in French