What Are Reciprocal Pronouns?

 

The Sixth Sense is a famous American movie. The 1999 film tells the story of a young boy who has an unusual issue. He claims that he can see dead people.

In the film, the boy describes his problem:

"I see dead people....Walking around like regular people. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see..."

Today on Everyday Grammar, we will explore some of the words that you just heard. We also will explain a pronoun¹ that the boy used – the words "each other." This term is an example of a reciprocal³ pronoun.

But first, let's start with a few definitions⁴.

Pronouns⁵

Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun². Words such as I, me, or my are personal pronouns. The word you choose depends on how it is used in a sentence. For example, personal pronouns can act as the subject or object. They can also show possession. This is known as the possessive case.

When using the first person, the subject pronoun is I, and the object pronoun is me. The possessive pronoun is my. Some grammar books use the term possessive adjective⁷ in place of the term possessive pronoun.

Reciprocal pronouns

What exactly are reciprocal pronouns?

Reciprocal is a word that describes a relationship in which people or groups do something similar, as in this sentence:

Mark helped Bob, and Bob helped Mark.

In newspapers, you might read about reciprocal trade agreements. Consider an imaginary⁸ trade deal between two countries. Country A reduces taxes on goods from Country B. And in return, Country B lowers taxes on goods from Country A.

In grammar, reciprocal pronouns are pronouns that refer to a previously⁹ named noun. They suggest that one person or group does something to or for another person or group. In exchange, that person or group does something to or for the first person or group.

Luckily, there are only two reciprocal pronouns you need to know. They are "each other" and "one another."

Consider our earlier example.

Mark helped Bob, and Bob helped Mark.

With a reciprocal pronoun, the sentence would become:

Mark and Bob helped each other.

The pronoun each other refers to two people: Mark and Bob.

Reciprocal pronouns have two common uses. First, they can act as objects referring to previously named nouns⁶, as in our example about Mark and Bob.

Second, they can act as determiners - words that mark nouns - in the possessive case. Here is an example:

Mark and Bob even do each other's homework!

Now you might be wondering about the second reciprocal pronoun, "one another." How is it different from "each other?"

In general, "each other" refers to two nouns, while "one another" refers to three or more nouns. Here is an example:

All the players on the team help one another with their homework.

Knowing the difference between "each other" and "one another" is important for a very strict writing test.

But to be honest, when talking with a native English speaker, you do not need to worry too much about the difference. Sometimes native speakers use "each other" to refer to three or more.

What is most important is that you understand the idea of reciprocal pronouns and how they act in a sentence.

Closing thoughts

At the beginning of this report, you heard a few lines from the movie The Sixth Sense:

"They don't see each other."

You will hear native English speakers use reciprocal pronouns in many other films, television shows, and news stories. Listen carefully to how native speakers use them.

A piece of advice for you. When you use "each other" in speaking, pay careful attention to the "ch" sound at the end of "each." It is a difficult sound for speakers of many languages.

Words in This Story

pronoun – n. grammar: a word (such as I, he, she, you, it, we, or they) that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase

grammar – n. the whole system of a language or of languages

refer to - v. to have a direct connection or relationship to (someone or something)

previously – adv. formerly¹⁰; earlier or before

strict – adj. severe; firm or uncompromising

1 pronoun   

n.代词

参考例句：

• The relative pronoun is often dropped if it is the subject.关系代名词做受词时常被省略。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

2 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

3 reciprocal   

adj.相互的，互惠的，互补的；n.相互，互惠 [数］ 倒数

参考例句：

• Our relationship is based on reciprocal respect.我们的关系是以互相尊重为基础的。
• Although I gave him many presents,I had no reciprocal gifts from him.虽然我给他很多礼物，但我没有收到过他给我的礼物。

4 definitions   

定义( definition的名词复数 )； 规定； 清晰（度）； 解释

参考例句：

• Write clear definitions in order to avoid ambiguity. 释义要写清楚以免产生歧义。
• Definitions in this dictionary are printed in roman type. 这本词典里的释义是用罗马体印刷的。

5 pronouns   

n.代词( pronoun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Relative pronouns and adverbs introduce attributive clauses. 关系代词和关系副词引导定语从句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "I", "you"and "he" are all personal pronouns. I，you和he都是人称代词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 adjective   

n.形容词；adj.形容词的，用作形容词的

参考例句：

• Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
• The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。

8 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。