Question 1

Why use the singular um ao outro when the subject is plural (the doctor and the nurse)?

Accepted Answer

Even though the subject is plural, the action happens individually between exactly two people: one person to the other person. You use the singular um ao outro for two individuals. If it were a larger group of people defending each other, you would use the plural uns aos outros.

Question 2

Does the sentence mean the same thing if I leave out um ao outro and just say O médico e o enfermeiro defendiam-se?

Accepted Answer

Almost, but it can be ambiguous. The pronoun -se can be either reflexive ("they defended themselves") or reciprocal ("they defended each other"). Adding um ao outro completely removes this ambiguity, emphasizing that the action was strictly reciprocal.

Question 3

Why is the verb in the imperfect tense (defendiam) instead of the simple past (defenderam)?

Accepted Answer

The imperfect tense (defendiam) shows that this was an ongoing, continuous, or habitual situation in the past. It translates best to "they used to defend each other" or "they were defending each other." If they had defended each other during one specific, completed event, you would use the simple past: defenderam-se.

Question 4

What if the sentence was about a female doctor and a female nurse? Would the phrase um ao outro change?

Accepted Answer

Yes! The reciprocal phrase must agree with the gender of the people involved. For two women (a médica e a enfermeira), it becomes uma à outra. If the pair is mixed (one man and one woman), the masculine form um ao outro is used as the default.

O médico e o enfermeiro defendiam-se um ao outro.

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