Language/French/Grammar/Reciprocal-se-and-cases-of-potential-ambiguity
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Reciprocal se and cases of potential ambiguity
When the subject is third person plural, se may also be interpreted as a 'reciprocal' pronoun, corresponding to English 'each other'. In some cases se is therefore ambiguous, having a 'reflexive' or 'reciprocal' interpretation, and the meaning may depend on the context:
- Les deux écrivains s'admirent depuis 20 ans is most likely to be:
The two writers have admired each other for 20 years
but could possibly be:
The two writers have (each) admired themselves for 20 years
- Les deux amis se connaissent bien
The two friends know themselves or each other well
Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Possessive determiners, Omission of the article, Plural of words in "Al" & Adverb—adjective compounds.
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Use of the definite article with quantities
- Feminine Form
- Infinitives
- Subject verb agreement — Verb agreement with collective noun subjects
- How to use « il s'agit de » in French
- "se faire" and "se laisser"
- Number differences between French and English nouns
- "C'est" or "Ce sont"
- Nouns which change meaning when they change gender
- How to use Have
- Regular plurals in French
- Ce, and compound forms of être
- Easy way of generating the present tense
- Choosing between il est and c'est
- Direct object and indirect object pronouns differences between English and French