Breakdown of Le chercheur isole les uns des autres.
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
le chercheur
the researcher
isoler
to isolate
les uns
the ones
les autres
the others
Questions & Answers about Le chercheur isole les uns des autres.
Why is it des autres instead of just les autres?
The verb isoler takes the preposition de when isolating something from something else (isoler quelque chose de quelque chose). When de is placed before the plural pronoun les autres, it naturally contracts to des autres. If the verb didn't require a preposition, you would just use les uns les autres.
Could we use l'un de l'autre in this sentence instead?
Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly. You use l'un de l'autre (singular) when isolating exactly two things: "one from the other". Because this sentence uses the plural les uns des autres, it means the researcher is isolating multiple things from other multiple things, or dividing a larger group ("some from the others").
Does les uns des autres always mean "some from the others", or can it mean "from each other"?
It can mean both! Here, the researcher is acting on separate groups, so it means "some from the others". However, if you used a reflexive verb, like ils s'isolent les uns des autres, it would express a reciprocal action: "they isolate themselves from each other".
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