Learn Spanish (Spain): Mi compañero y yo todavía no nos soportamos. - My colleague and I still cannot stand each other.

Word

Mi compañero y yo todavía no nos soportamos.

Meaning

My colleague and I still cannot stand each other.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Spanish (Spain)

Lesson

Reciprocal actions (nos, os, se)

Breakdown of Mi compañero y yo todavía no nos soportamos.

and

no / not

Questions & Answers about Mi compañero y yo todavía no nos soportamos.

Why do we use nos here if the English translation is "each other"?

The subject is Mi compañero y yo (My colleague and I), which is equivalent to nosotros (we). When a "we" subject does something mutually, you use the reciprocal pronoun nos with the plural verb form soportamos to mean "each other."

Wait, doesn't soportar mean "to support"?

This is a tricky "false friend" in Spanish. Soportar actually means "to stand," "to tolerate," or "to bear." If you want to say "to support" (like backing an idea or helping someone emotionally), you should use the verb apoyar.

Could nos soportamos also mean "we stand ourselves"?

Grammatically, yes, it could be reflexive ("ourselves") instead of reciprocal ("each other"). However, context usually makes it obvious. Here, it makes much more sense that two colleagues cannot stand each other rather than cannot stand themselves.

Can I change the word order and say no nos soportamos todavía?

Yes, you can! Todavía (still/yet) is quite flexible. Putting it before the negative verb adds a bit of emphasis, but putting it at the end is perfectly fine too. Just remember that no and nos must stay locked together right in front of the verb.