Breakdown of Kiedy rozmawiamy szczerze, nie obwiniamy się nawzajem.
nie
no / not
się
oneself
rozmawiać
to talk
kiedy
when
szczerze
honestly
obwiniać
to blame
nawzajem
mutually
Questions & Answers about Kiedy rozmawiamy szczerze, nie obwiniamy się nawzajem.
Since się already means "each other", why do we add nawzajem?
While się can mean "each other" (reciprocal) or "ourselves" (reflexive), using it alone in nie obwiniamy się could ambiguously mean "we don't blame ourselves." Adding nawzajem explicitly clarifies that the action is mutual: "we don't blame one another."
Could we use jeden drugiego in this sentence instead of nawzajem?
Yes, you could say nie obwiniamy jeden drugiego (or jedna drugą if only women are speaking). Because the verb obwiniać (to blame) requires a direct object in the accusative case, the second part of the phrase changes to the accusative form (drugiego). Nawzajem is often preferred because it is an unchangeable adverb and you don't have to worry about matching gender or case!
Is it possible to drop się and just say nie obwiniamy nawzajem?
No, you cannot drop się here. Nawzajem acts as an adverb emphasizing the mutual action, but the transitive verb obwiniać still requires an object. The pronoun się fulfills that grammatical requirement, while nawzajem just removes any ambiguity about its meaning.
Why are both verbs (rozmawiamy, obwiniamy) in the imperfective aspect here?
The sentence describes a general rule, habit, or recurring situation (essentially, "whenever we talk honestly"). In Polish, general truths and habitual actions always use the imperfective aspect.
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