Breakdown of Los animales se dan la defensa mutuamente contra el depredador.
los
the (masculine plural)
el animal
the animal
dar
to give
se
each other (reciprocal)
contra
against
mutuamente
mutually
el depredador
predator
la defensa
defense
Questions & Answers about Los animales se dan la defensa mutuamente contra el depredador.
Why do we need the word mutuamente here if se dan already means 'give each other'?
The pronoun se can be either reflexive ('to themselves') or reciprocal ('to each other'). Without mutuamente, Los animales se dan la defensa could technically mean the animals give defense to themselves. Adding mutuamente (mutually) removes the ambiguity and makes it completely clear that they are defending each other.
Could I use el uno al otro instead of mutuamente in this sentence?
Yes! You could say Los animales se dan la defensa los unos a los otros (using the plural because we are talking about animals in general, though el uno al otro works if there are exactly two). Both expressions do the exact same job here: they clarify that the action is reciprocal rather than reflexive.
Why does Spanish use la defensa when the English translation just says 'defense'?
In Spanish, when you talk about an abstract concept or a general noun, you almost always need the definite article (el, la, los, las). While English drops the word 'the' for general concepts like 'defense', Spanish requires it, making it la defensa.
Is darse la defensa a common way to say 'defend each other'?
It is grammatically correct and emphasizes the act of providing protection, but it sounds a bit formal. In everyday Spanish, it is much more common to just use the reciprocal verb defenderse (to defend each other), as in: Los animales se defienden mutuamente.
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