Breakdown of Ellos aprenden el uno del otro para mejorar el revés y la puntuación.
de
from / of
y
and
ellos
they
para
for
aprender
to learn
mejorar
to improve
uno
one
la
the (feminine)
otro
other
la puntuación
the score
el revés
the backhand
Questions & Answers about Ellos aprenden el uno del otro para mejorar el revés y la puntuación.
Why is it el uno del otro and not el uno al otro?
The phrase adapts to the preposition the verb needs. Because you learn 'from' someone in Spanish (aprender de alguien), the preposition de is placed between el uno and otro. The de then naturally merges with el to form the contraction del.
Where is the reciprocal pronoun se? Shouldn't it be se aprenden el uno del otro?
Usually, reciprocal phrases do pair with a pronoun like se or nos (for example, se ayudan el uno al otro). However, you don't 'learn each other' here, you learn from each other. Because they aren't the direct or indirect objects receiving the action of the verb, we just use the prepositional phrase el uno del otro without a reciprocal pronoun.
If the sentence were about a group of women, would the reciprocal phrase change?
Could we just say Ellos aprenden de sí mismos?
What kind of vocabulary is el revés in this context?
Given the mention of a score (la puntuación), this sentence is about a racket sport like tennis. In that context, el revés means the 'backhand' stroke. Outside of sports, it generally means 'the reverse', 'the other side', or 'a setback'.
Learn Ellos aprenden el uno del otro para mejorar el revés y la puntuación and more in Spanish
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