Breakdown of Dzieci dają sobie nawzajem jabłka.
dziecko
the child
jabłko
the apple
dawać
to give
sobie nawzajem
each other
Questions & Answers about Dzieci dają sobie nawzajem jabłka.
What does bolded word Sobie do here?
- Bolded word Sobie is the dative reflexive pronoun. With verbs like bolded word dawać/dać (to give), it marks the indirect object (the recipient).
- With a plural subject like bolded word Dzieci, bolded word sobie typically means “to one another/each other” (the recipients are members of the subject group).
- It cannot be translated as “themselves” in the sense of a direct object here; it’s “to themselves/each other” in the dative.
Why not use bolded word się instead of bolded word sobie?
- Bolded word się is not used for the indirect object; it cannot replace dative bolded word sobie.
- Use bolded word się for reciprocal actions that take a direct object, e.g. bolded word Widzą się (They see each other), bolded word Całują się (They kiss each other).
- For giving to each other, you need the dative: bolded word dają sobie.
Do I really need bolded word nawzajem if I already have bolded word sobie?
- Not strictly. Bolded word Dzieci dają sobie jabłka is usually understood as “The children give each other apples.”
- Bolded word nawzajem just makes the reciprocity explicit and unambiguous. It’s a common collocation: bolded word sobie nawzajem.
- Without bolded word sobie, bolded word nawzajem alone with this verb is unusual: people normally say bolded word dają sobie nawzajem, not just bolded word dają nawzajem jabłka.
Where can bolded word nawzajem go in the sentence?