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Reciprocal verbs are a type of pronominal verb used to talk about actions that people do to each other.
For example:
Antonio y yo nos besamos.
Antonio and I kissed each other.
¿Os conocéis?
Do you all know each other?
Juan y María se casaron.
Juan and Maria got married (to each other).
Los estudiantes se ayudan.
The students help each other.
Reciprocal Pronouns
Reciprocal verbs are formed by combination of a verb and a reciprocal pronoun. Since reciprocal actions always involve two or more people, only plural pronouns are considered reciprocal. A list of these pronouns is given in the table below.
List of Reciprocal Pronouns
Person Spanish English
First person
nos
to, for, from, or off ourselves
Second person
os
to, for, from, or off yourselves
Third person
se
to, for, from, or off themselves, yourselves
Reciprocal or Reflexive
Sentences with reciprocal actions sometimes look just like sentences with reflexive actions. To differentiate a reflexive action from a reciprocal action, the use of expressions such as uno al
otro
, uno a
otro
,
mutuamente
,
recíprocamente
, entre
sí
, etc. can be added to a phrase to show the subjects are performing the action on each other. All these expressions can be roughly translated as each other, one another or mutually.
For example:
Se aman mutuamente.
They love one another.
Se aman uno al otro.
They love each other.
No nos vemos uno a otro.
We can’t see each other.
List of Common Reciprocal Verbs
Below you'll find a list of verbs that are common used to talk about reciprocal actions.
Spanish English
abrazarse
to hug each other
conocerse
to know each other
mirarse
to see each other
ayudarse
to help each other
despedirse
to say goodbye to each other
pelearse
to fight with each other
besarse
to kiss each other
divorciarse
to divorce each other
reunirse
to get together
casarse
to marry each other
estrellarse
to crash into each other
turnarse
to take turns
