Reciprocal Constructions
Reciprocal Reflexes are similar to the
Reflexive Pronouns. Except instead of referring to oneself, the Reciprocal
Reflexes refer to one another or each other.
Remember our example of Juan looking at himself?
We know how to say
| Juan se mira |
Juan looks at himself |
| Juan mira a María |
Juan looks at María |
| Juan la mira |
Juan looks at her |
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But how do we say "Juan and María look
at each other"? This is where the Reciprocal Reflexes come in.
They are the same as the plural Reflexive Pronouns:
| nos (nosotros) |
os (vosotros) |
se (ellos, ellas, ustedes) |
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Notice that in reciprocal constructions that
we use only the plural reflexive pronouns. This is because there
are always at least two people involved. The conjugation of the verb
will help tell you if you are looking at a Reflexive or Reciprocal construct.
If you see the sentence
you know it is someone looking at
him or herself, because the verb is singular; only one person is acting.
Therefore, the se is a Reflexive pronoun.
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What if the sentence says "Se miran" ?
This is a bit trickier. Because miran is plural, we
know that more than one person is involved. So the se
could be a Reciprocal pronoun, meaning "They look at each other."
But it could also be Reflexive, meaning "They look at themselves."
-
How do you know the difference? The context
of the conversation you are having or the material that you are reading.
For example, Se besaron
is more likely to be "They kissed
(each other)" than "They kissed themselves."
Copyright © 2000 Deborah R. Lemon.
All
rights reserved.