Breakdown of Нам надо расстаться друг с другом.
мы
we
с
with (also со)
надо
must, need to
друг друга
each other
расстаться
to break up
Questions & Answers about Нам надо расстаться друг с другом.
Why is the preposition с placed in the middle of друг с другом?
When using the reciprocal pronoun друг друга (each other) with a preposition, the preposition always splits the two words. Instead of putting the preposition at the very beginning, Russian places с (with) right in the middle: друг с другом.
Why does the second part of друг с другом take the instrumental case?
The preposition с (meaning "with") requires the instrumental case. In this "each other" phrase, the first half (друг) always stays in its base form, while the second half changes to match the case required by the preposition or verb. Therefore, the second друг becomes the instrumental другом.
Why does this sentence start with the dative Нам instead of the nominative Мы?
The word надо (need to / must) is an impersonal word. In Russian, constructions expressing need or necessity require the logical subject to be in the dative case. So, "we need" is expressed as "to us it is necessary" (нам надо).
The verb расстаться has the reflexive ending -ся. Why is it used here?
The -ся ending often implies a reciprocal action (doing something with one another). This is very common with verbs involving meeting, parting, or communicating. The verb расстаться already means "to part ways", and adding друг с другом simply gives extra emphasis to the "with each other" aspect.
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