Breakdown of Они сразу влюбились друг в друга.
они
they
в
in / to (direction)
сразу
immediately
друг друга
each other
влюбиться
to fall in love
Questions & Answers about Они сразу влюбились друг в друга.
Why is the preposition в placed right in the middle of друг друга?
When you use друг друга (each other) with a preposition, the preposition always goes between the two words, never before the phrase. So instead of 'в друг друга', it becomes друг в друга.
Why is the second part of the phrase друга? What case is that?
It is in the accusative case. The verb влюбиться (to fall in love) requires the preposition в followed by the accusative. Because друг is an animate noun, its accusative form looks exactly like its genitive form: друга. The first word, друг, always stays in the nominative case.
Why does the verb влюбились start with the prefix в-?
The prefix в- often means 'into.' While любить means 'to love,' влюбиться means 'to fall in love' (literally, to enter into a state of love). This pairs perfectly with the preposition в that follows it!
Why does влюбились end with the reflexive -сь? Does it mean they fell in love with themselves?
Not here! While the -ся or -сь ending can mean 'oneself,' it is also used to make verbs intransitive (meaning they cannot take a direct object). You just 'fall in love', and the target of that love is handled by в plus the accusative case.
Learn Они сразу влюбились друг в друга and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free