B2-14 · Say what colleagues do for one another
Teamwork
Use reciprocal sich and einander, including miteinander, aufeinander and voneinander, to describe collaboration.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
An action goes both ways
In a fictional design team, Ada and Ben share a project. With a plural subject, sich can describe a reciprocal action. Sie unterstützen sich means that they support each other when the context makes that relationship clear.
Ada und Ben unterstützen einander.
Ada and Ben support each other.
Die beiden helfen sich gegenseitig.
The two help each other.
Wir ergänzen uns bei der Planung.
We complement each other during planning.
Ihr stimmt euch vor der Präsentation ab.
You coordinate with each other before the presentation.
Sich can also mean that people act on themselves. Einander or gegenseitig makes the reciprocal meaning clearer when needed.
02
Join the preposition to einander
The verb's preposition remains part of the expression. Sprechen mit becomes miteinander sprechen. Sich verlassen auf becomes sich aufeinander verlassen. Learn the whole phrase so that the preposition stays attached to the right verb.
Ada und Ben sprechen miteinander über die Rollen.
Ada and Ben talk to each other about the roles.
Wir verlassen uns aufeinander.
We rely on each other.
Die Teammitglieder lernen voneinander.
The team members learn from each other.
Bei der Übergabe achten wir aufeinander.
During the handover, we look out for each other.
These compounds are written as one word. The reflexive pronoun in sich aufeinander verlassen still agrees with the subject.
03
Roles that connect
A shared task can involve mutual help, discussion and trust. Distinguish helping one another from speaking with one another. With helfen, einander fills the dative role without taking an ending.
Wir helfen einander bei schwierigen Aufgaben.
We help each other with difficult tasks.
Wir besprechen die Aufgaben miteinander.
We discuss the tasks with each other.
Wir verlassen uns bei der Übergabe aufeinander.
We rely on each other during the handover.
Ada und Ben geben einander Rückmeldung.
Ada and Ben give each other feedback.
Einander does not change for case. In wir verlassen uns aufeinander, keep both uns and aufeinander: they have different jobs in the phrase.
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