Breakdown of Często ukrywamy prawdę jeden przed drugim.
często
often
jeden
one
drugi
second / the other (in 'one another')
prawda
truth
przed
in front of (+ Instrumental)
ukrywać
to hide
Questions & Answers about Często ukrywamy prawdę jeden przed drugim.
Why is the preposition przed placed right in the middle of the phrase jeden drugim?
When using the jeden drugiego (one another) construction with a preposition, Polish always places the preposition exactly between the two words. It works a lot like the English phrasing "one from another." You cannot put the preposition at the very beginning of the phrase.
Why is the second part of the phrase in the instrumental case (drugim)?
The case of the second word (drugi) is completely determined by the preposition right in front of it. The verb ukrywać (to hide) pairs with the preposition przed, which demands the instrumental case for whatever is being hidden from. Therefore, drugi becomes drugim. The first word, jeden, always stays in the nominative case.
Jeden przed drugim is masculine. Does this change if a group of women is speaking?
Yes. If the group consists exclusively of women, the phrase must adapt to feminine forms: Często ukrywamy prawdę jedna przed drugą. If the group is mixed-gender, or if the genders are unknown, you stick to the default masculine version: jeden przed drugim.
Could we express "from each other" in this sentence using nawzajem instead?
Yes, but because a preposition is required, you can't just drop nawzajem in on its own. You have to use the reflexive pronoun siebie (in its instrumental form sobą because of przed). You could say Często ukrywamy prawdę przed sobą or add nawzajem for extra clarity: Często ukrywamy prawdę przed sobą nawzajem.
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