Breakdown of Par contre, il est interdit d'insulter ou de dénigrer autrui.
être
to be
ou
or
il
it (impersonal subject)
interdit
forbidden
de
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)
par contre
on the other hand
autrui
others
dénigrer
to denigrate
insulter
to insult
Questions & Answers about Par contre, il est interdit d'insulter ou de dénigrer autrui.
Why is autrui used here instead of les autres?
Both mean "others" or "other people" in English, but autrui is a more formal, invariable pronoun that refers to humanity in general. While les autres can refer to specific people or even objects, autrui specifically means "other human beings" as a broad concept, which is why it frequently appears in moral or legal rules like this one.
Does autrui ever take an article, like l'autrui?
No, autrui never takes an article. It is an invariable pronoun that stands completely on its own. Furthermore, it is almost exclusively used as an object (either a direct object, as in this sentence, or an indirect object following a preposition) and is almost never used as the subject of a sentence.
Why is the preposition de repeated before dénigrer in d'insulter ou de dénigrer?
In French grammar, the short prepositions à and de must be repeated before every single infinitive verb in a list or sequence. You cannot share the first d' across both verbs, even though they are linked by ou.
Why does the sentence start with il est interdit instead of c'est interdit?
I have heard that par contre is frowned upon. Should I use en revanche instead?
Par contre is completely standard and universally used in everyday French. However, traditional grammarians often prefer en revanche for formal writing. At a B2 level, you can confidently use par contre in speech, but you may want to opt for en revanche in a formal essay.
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