Depuis la dispute, ils ne se parlent plus.

Depuis means since here. It gives the starting point of a situation that began in the past and is still true now.

So Depuis la dispute means since the argument.

This is a little different from après:

• Après la dispute = after the argument
• Depuis la dispute = since the argument, from then until now

The sentence is about an ongoing situation, so depuis is the natural choice.

Not exactly.

In everyday French, une dispute usually means an argument, a quarrel, or a fight between people. It often sounds more personal and emotional than the English word dispute, which can sometimes sound formal or abstract.

So here la dispute is best understood as the argument or the quarrel.

French usually uses an article where English might not think about it as much.

Here, la dispute means the argument — a specific argument that both the speaker and listener can identify.

So French says:

• Depuis la dispute

where English naturally says:

• Since the argument
• or sometimes just Since their argument

This is the verb se parler, which means to talk to each other or to speak to one another.

The basic verb is parler à quelqu’un = to speak to someone.

When the action is reciprocal, French often uses se:

• Ils se parlent = They talk to each other

So se here does not mean themselves in the usual English sense. It means each other.

Because se already takes the place of à l’un l’autre or à eux.

Compare:

• Ils parlent à leurs amis. = They are talking to their friends.
• Ils se parlent. = They are talking to each other.

With parler, the person spoken to is normally introduced by à, but when that person becomes a pronoun, French uses se here.

So Ils se parlent is basically the idea of:

• Ils parlent l’un à l’autre

Ne... plus means no longer or not anymore.

So:

• Ils ne se parlent plus = They no longer speak to each other / They don’t talk to each other anymore

This is different from ne... pas:

• Ils ne se parlent pas = They are not talking to each other / they do not talk to each other
• Ils ne se parlent plus = They used to talk to each other, but now they do not

So plus adds the idea of a change from an earlier situation.

In French negation, ne comes before the verb phrase and plus comes after the conjugated verb.

With a pronominal verb like se parler, the reflexive/reciprocal pronoun stays right before the verb.

So the pattern is:

subject + ne + pronoun + verb + plus

Here:

• ils = subject
• ne = first part of negation
• se = pronoun
• parlent = verb
• plus = second part of negation

That gives:

• ils ne se parlent plus

Because French often uses the present tense with depuis when a situation started in the past and still continues now.

So:

• the argument happened in the past
• their not speaking is still true now

That is why French says:

• Depuis la dispute, ils ne se parlent plus.

English often uses different wording, such as:

• They haven’t spoken to each other since the argument
• Since the argument, they no longer speak to each other

But in French, the present tense is completely normal here.

Yes. That is a very natural alternative.

• Depuis la dispute = Since the argument
• Depuis qu'ils se sont disputés = Since they argued / Since they had an argument

The first version uses a noun phrase. The second uses a full clause.

Both are correct. The choice depends on whether you want to name the event with a noun (la dispute) or describe it with a verb (ils se sont disputés).

In careful or standard French, yes:

• Ils ne se parlent plus.

In casual spoken French, people very often drop ne:

• Ils se parlent plus.

That is extremely common in conversation, but learners should still know and use ne... plus, especially in writing and more formal speech.

In ne... plus meaning no longer / not anymore, plus is usually pronounced ply.

So:

• Ils ne se parlent plus sounds roughly like eel nuh suh parl pleu

The final s is usually not pronounced here.

That said, pronunciation of plus can vary depending on meaning, register, and what sound follows, so the safest thing for a learner is to remember this sentence as a fixed pattern:

• ne... plus = no longer / not anymore