Breakdown of Elles ne se sont jamais menti pour ne pas se trahir.
être
to be
elles
they (feminine)
pour
for
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
jamais
never / ever
se
himself, herself, themselves (reflexive)
mentir
to lie
trahir
to betray
Questions & Answers about Elles ne se sont jamais menti pour ne pas se trahir.
Why is there no feminine plural agreement on menti since the subject is Elles?
Usually, pronominal verbs (verbs using se) in the past tense agree with the subject. However, there is an exception when the reflexive pronoun acts as an indirect object. Because you say mentir à quelqu'un (to lie to someone), the se here is an indirect object meaning to each other. Since it's indirect, the past participle menti does not add an -e or -s.
Why does the negation ne ... jamais wrap around se sont instead of just the auxiliary verb sont?
With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun (se) is glued to the conjugated verb. In the passé composé, the auxiliary verb (sont) is the conjugated part. Therefore, the negation must wrap around the entire pronoun-auxiliary block: ne + se sont + jamais.
Why are ne and pas right next to each other in ne pas se trahir?
When negating an infinitive verb (like trahir), both parts of the negation stay together (ne pas, ne jamais, etc.) and are placed directly in front of the verb. The reflexive pronoun se must also stay right next to its verb, resulting in the strict order: ne pas + se + trahir.
If we changed the second half to the past tense (they didn't betray each other), would the past participle of trahir agree with Elles?
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