Breakdown of Elles se sont parlé des lampions.
être
to be
elle
she
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
parler
to speak
se
himself, herself, themselves (reflexive)
le lampion
the paper lantern
Questions & Answers about Elles se sont parlé des lampions.
Why is it parlé and not parlées, since the subject Elles is feminine plural?
With reflexive and reciprocal verbs in the passé composé, the past participle only agrees if the pronoun (se) is the direct object. Because you say parler à quelqu'un (to speak to someone), the se here is an indirect object. Therefore, parlé does not take any agreement.
How would you rewrite this sentence to emphasize who is speaking, using the cleft structure (c'est ... qui) from this lesson?
You would say Ce sont elles qui se sont parlé des lampions. Notice that c'est becomes ce sont to match the plural pronoun, and the verb phrase se sont parlé correctly agrees with the subject elles (though, as noted, the participle parlé remains invariable!). In casual spoken French, you might also hear C'est elles qui...
Why do we use des here instead of les or just de?
Could Elles se sont parlé also mean "They spoke to themselves"?
Grammatically, yes. Reflexive pronouns can be literal (to themselves) or reciprocal (to each other). However, with verbs of communication, the reciprocal meaning is much more common. If a French speaker needed to avoid all ambiguity, they might add les unes aux autres to clarify they meant "to each other."
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