reciprocal pronoun
- noun
- /rɪˈsɪprəkl ˈproʊnaʊn/
- Specialized
:
pronombre recíproco
- Do you two know each other from school?
Examples
-
I hope you make each other a bit happier.
-
There was a moment when we just looked at each other, you know.
-
There was a moment when we just looked at each other, you know.
-
We have some sort of connection to each other.
-
We know each other, right?
-
After I died, you and I ran into each other at the coffee shop before work.
-
That's why we need each other.
-
They amused each other and were in turn amused.
-
Do you two know each other from school?
-
I hope you make each other a bit happier.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'reciprocal' (mutual action) + 'pronoun' (a word replacing a noun), so a learner who knows both can infer it refers to pronouns expressing mutual actions or relationships (e.g., each other). This is a common, cross-linguistic descriptive naming pattern rather than an idiom, making the meaning directly derivable at B1.
Etymology
Reciprocal pronoun comes from the simple image of people doing the same action back and forth. Think of two friends throwing a ball to each other; words like each other or one another show that the action is shared, so the pronoun means 'doing something to each other'.
