један другог / једни другима
Each Other
један другог corresponds to English each other or one another. While the reflexive clitic се can mean both 'themselves' and 'each other', adding један другог makes reciprocal meaning completely explicit. Crucially, any preposition splits the phrase right down the middle: један с другим ('with each other').
How It Works
To express mutual or reciprocal actions in Serbian, speakers use variations of један другог (literally 'one another').
1. Resolving Ambiguity with 'се'
Serbian often uses the reflexive clitic се for mutual actions (e.g., Они се гледају). However, this sentence can mean either 'They look at themselves (in a mirror)' or 'They look at each other.' Using један другог eliminates ambiguity: Они гледају један другог strictly expresses reciprocity. When accusative један другог functions as the direct object, drop the direct-object clitic се (*они се воле један другог is pleonastic). Note, however, that lexical reflexives (reflexiva tantum like борити се or ругати се) must always retain се: Они се ругају један другоме.
2. Case Government and Case-Freezing
A crucial grammatical rule concerns how the two words decline: the first element inflects for gender and number to agree with the subject, but remains fixed in the nominative case, while only the second element inflects for grammatical case as governed by the verb or preposition. For example, say један другог (never accusative-accusative *једног другог). The case of the second element matches the government of the predicate:
- Accusative (direct object): Марко и Петар поштују један другог.
- Dative (verbs like помагати, веровати): Помажемо један другоме.
- Genitive / Locative / Instrumental: Governed by prepositions.
3. Preposition Placement (Tmesis)
In English, prepositions come first ('about each other', 'with each other'). In Serbian, prepositions must be inserted between the two words:
- један о другоме (about each other) — locative with о
- један с другим (with each other) — instrumental with с/са
- једни против других (against each other) — genitive after prepositions
4. Gender and Number Agreement
The forms agree in gender and number with the subject:
- All-Masculine: један другог
- All-Feminine: једна другу
- Mixed-Gender Pairs: Standard prescriptive Serbian uses neuter singular agreement: Марко и Ана воле једно друго. Using masculine један другог is widely heard in colloquial speech, but једно друго is the canonical standard norm.
- Plural / Larger Groups: When speaking of three or more people, collective bodies (teams, schools), or grammatically plural nouns, use the plural forms: Ученици помажу једни другима; Волите једни друге.
Examples (5)
- Марко и Никола поштују један другог.
Marko and Nikola respect each other.
Word by Word: Marko and Nikola respect one another.
The verb поштовати takes a direct object in the accusative masculine animate form (другог).
- Ана и Јелена често помажу једна другој.
Ana and Jelena often help each other.
Word by Word: Ana and Jelena often help one another.
Because both subjects are female, the feminine nominative 'једна' is used. The verb помагати governs the dative case (другој).
- Често разговарамо један с другим о плановима.
We often speak with each other about plans.
Word by Word: Often we-speak one with other about plans.
The preposition 'с' sits directly between 'један' and 'другим' (instrumental case).
- Они никада не говоре лоше један о другоме.
They never speak badly about each other.
Word by Word: They never not speak badly one about other.
The preposition 'о' takes the locative case (другоме) and is placed between the two elements.
- Два тима су једни другима честитали на победи.
The two teams congratulated each other on the victory.
Word by Word: Two teams are one-pl other-pl congratulated on victory.
Because the subjects interacting are two collective groups (teams), the plural form in the dative case (једни другима) is used.
Common Mistakes
Placing the preposition before the whole phrase instead of in the middle.
Они разговарају о један другом.Они разговарају један о другоме.Under English influence, learners often put prepositions first. In Serbian, the preposition must split the phrase: 'један [предлог] други'.
Declining both elements according to case instead of leaving the first element in the nominative.
Они поштују једног другог.Они поштују један другог.Only the second word inflects to the required case. The first element ('један', 'једна', 'једно') remains frozen in the nominative form.
Using the accusative 'један другог' with verbs that govern other cases like the dative.
Помажемо један другог сваки дан.Помажемо један другоме сваки дан.The verb 'помагати' requires the dative case, so the second element must inflect to 'другоме / другом'.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To express reciprocal relations using 'један другог' (or plural groups with 'једни другима'), you need to know how case government works in Serbian sentences and how adjectives/pronouns decline into the appropriate case (accusative, dative, instrumental, etc.) depending on the verb.
- Case Roles in a Sentence
To use reciprocal phrases like 'један другог' or 'једни другима', learners must understand case roles, as the second word declines into the case required by the verb or preposition.
Level 3 - Declining This That and Possessives
The elements 'један' and 'други' decline following adjectival and pronominal declension patterns across singular and plural forms.
Level 3 - себе / сеReflexive Objects
Understanding how reflexivity operates with verbs provides the conceptual contrast needed for expressing reciprocal actions ('each other').
Level 2
Related Patterns
- са / с + InstrumentalDoing Things with Someone
Explains how the preposition 'са/с' pairs with the instrumental case, which forms the phrase 'један с другим' (with each other).
Level 2 - помоћи / веровати + DativeVerbs with Dative Complements
Provides the case rules for verbs requiring a dative complement, dictating when 'један другоме' must be used instead of the accusative.
Level 2 - о / по + LocativeTopics and Distribution
Governs the preposition 'о', which is frequently inserted into the reciprocal phrase to form 'један о другоме' (about each other).
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice један другог / једни другима in Bubblegum
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