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Umjesto da rade zajedno, oni se natječu jedan s drugim.

Umjesto da rade zajedno, oni se natječu jedan s drugim.
Instead of working together, they compete with each other.
From Lesson 399:Complex reciprocals (jedan drugi)·Croatian

Questions & Answers about Umjesto da rade zajedno, oni se natječu jedan s drugim.

Why is the preposition s in the middle of jedan s drugim?
In Croatian reciprocal phrases using jedan drugi (each other), any preposition must be inserted directly between the two words, not placed at the beginning of the phrase. You will always see jedan s drugim (one with another) rather than s jedan drugim.
Why are the words jedan and drugim in two different cases?
In this construction, the first word (jedan) always stays in the nominative case, acting as a sort of subject. The second word (drugi) must change its case to match whatever preposition comes right before it. Because the preposition s requires the instrumental case, drugi becomes drugim.
English uses 'instead of working'. Why does Croatian use umjesto da rade?
Croatian does not use gerunds (verb forms ending in -ing) after prepositions. When you want to express 'instead of doing something', you must use the conjunction umjesto da followed by a fully conjugated verb. Here, that is the present tense rade (they work).
The verb natječu se already has the reflexive se. Isn't jedan s drugim redundant?
Not exactly. The verb natjecati se (to compete) is inherently reflexive, meaning it always requires se just to function. Adding jedan s drugim explicitly emphasizes the mutual, head-to-head nature of their competition rather than just stating that they are competing in general.
If oni referred to a group of women, how would the jedan s drugim phrase change?
The phrase jedan drugi must match the gender of the subjects. If the sentence was about an all-female group (one), the phrase would use feminine forms and become jedna s drugom.

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