Why is "que nous les avons présentés" ignoring all the les about "each other" and using the reflexive? and why is "leur" not used instead?

James W.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Why is "que nous les avons présentés" ignoring all the les about "each other" and using the reflexive? and why is "leur" not used instead?

Asked 3 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour James !

First of all, the use of reflexive to express "each other" only applies to cases where the people referred to are the same as the subjects of the sentence.

We looked at each other.   Nous nous sommes regardés.

Here, the people that are introduced to each other are different from the people introducing. 
The structure is présenter [quelqu'un] à [quelqu'un], and in French, you literally say: we introduced them one to the other
-> nous les présentons l'un à l'autre.

Colloquially, in this case, you can omit l'un à l'autre, as the context is clear about whom you're introducing them to. So both the following options are correct here:
Après qu'ils sont arrivés et que nous les avons présentés l'un à l'autre,

Après qu'ils sont arrivés et que nous les avons présentés,

I hope that explanation was helpful.

Bonne journée !

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Please post the entire sentence. I know I can go back and hunt for it myself, but it would be nice if I didn't have to.

James W.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Why is "que nous les avons présentés" ignoring all the les about "each other" and using the reflexive? and why is "leur" not used instead?

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