Breakdown of Ustedes se complementan el uno al otro, de manera que siempre se animan.
de
from / of
ustedes
you (plural)
siempre
always
a
to
que
that / than
uno
one
otro
other
se
each other (reciprocal)
la manera
the way / the manner
complementar
to complement
animar
to encourage (a person)
Questions & Answers about Ustedes se complementan el uno al otro, de manera que siempre se animan.
Why do we need el uno al otro when se complementan already means "you complement each other"?
The pronoun se can mean "yourselves" (reflexive) or "each other" (reciprocal). While context usually makes it clear, adding el uno al otro removes any ambiguity and emphasizes the reciprocal action. It explicitly stresses that person A complements person B, and vice versa.
Since this sentence addresses Ustedes, could we use the plural los unos a los otros instead?
Why isn't el uno al otro repeated at the end of the sentence for siempre se animan?
Once the reciprocal context is strongly established in the first clause, repeating the phrase becomes redundant. The pronoun se in se animan is immediately understood as "each other" thanks to the first half of the sentence.
Why does de manera que trigger the indicative verb animan here, rather than the subjunctive animen?
When de manera que states a factual result (meaning "so" or "with the result that"), it takes the indicative. It only triggers the subjunctive when it expresses an intended purpose or goal (meaning "so that" something might happen). Because they actually do encourage each other as a fact, the indicative is used.
Does complementan mean they give each other compliments?
No, that is a common false friend. Complementar means "to complement" (to complete or perfectly balance something). To say "to compliment" (to praise), you would use expressions like hacer cumplidos or verbs like elogiar or halagar.
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