Log inSign up

Le sociologue observe les cobayes.

Le sociologue observe les cobayes.
The sociologist observes the guinea pigs.
From Lesson 412:Distributive and reciprocal pronouns (les uns... les autres)·French

Breakdown of Le sociologue observe les cobayes.

observer
to observe
le sociologue
the sociologist
le cobaye
the guinea pig

Questions & Answers about Le sociologue observe les cobayes.

Does cobayes mean literal guinea pigs in this context?
Probably not! Just like in English, the French word cobaye is commonly used metaphorically to mean a human test subject in a study or experiment. Since it is a sociologue (sociologist) doing the observing, they are almost certainly observing people.
How do we know the gender of the sociologist here?
The noun sociologue has the exact same spelling for both men and women. We only know this sociologist is male because of the masculine definite article Le. If it were a woman, it would be La sociologue.
How could we use this lesson's grammar to say the subjects are observing each other?
To say 'The guinea pigs observe each other,' you would use a reciprocal reflexive verb along with the contrast pronouns for emphasis: Les cobayes s'observent les uns les autres.

Learn Le sociologue observe les cobayes and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →