Business Spotlight 08.2019

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

56


Foto: Peter Weber

Business Spotlight 6/2019 LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE
GRAMMAR

Reflexive and


reciprocal pronouns


In dieser Ausgabe geht es um zwei Arten von Pronomen, die manchmal
Kopfzerbrechen bereiten. ANNA HOCHSIEDER erklärt ihren Gebrauch.
EASY AUDIO PLUS
accountant [E(kaUntEnt]
, Buchhalter(in)
bookkeeping
[(bUk)ki:pIN]
, Buchhaltung
cope by oneself
[)kEUp baI wVn(self]
, alleine zurechtkommen
custom-made
[)kVstEm (meId]
, maßgefertigt
dressmaker
[(dresmeIkE]
, (Damen-)Schneider(in)
emphasize sth.
[(emfEsaIz]
, etw. betonen
fitting [(fItIN]
, hier: Anprobe
interchangeably
[)IntE(tSeIndZEbli]
, austauschbar, synonym
let alone [(let E)lEUn]
, geschweige denn
run sth. [rVn]
, etw. betreiben

ANNA HOCHSIEDER
is a Munich-based
teacher of
English who writes
regularly in
Business Spotlight.
Contact:
a.hochsieder@
googlemail.com

Answers

EXPLANATIONS
Reflexive pronouns are formed with -self/-selves.
Use them...

...when a person is the subject as well as an object of
the verb:
⋅ I taught myself to make shoes.
⋅ One fine day, I said to myself...
⋅ No business can run itself.

...to emphasize that a particular person, not someone
else, is doing something:
⋅ I always do the fittings myself.

...with by (or all by in the sense of “alone”):
⋅ I’d never be able to cope by myself.

...with certain verbs and idiomatic phrases:
⋅ Pull yourself together, Ben.
⋅ Why stop as long as we’re still enjoying
ourselves?

Don’t use reflexive pronouns for activities that you
routinely do yourself:
⋅ I had no energy to get up and wash in the
morning. (not “wash myself”)
But compare:
⋅ She’s only two years old, so of course she’s too
young to wash herself.

There are two reciprocal pronouns: each other and
one another. They are used interchangeably, though
“one another” sounds somewhat more formal. Use
them to say that each person or thing in a pair or
group does something to or for the other or others:
⋅ We taught each other our respective skills.
⋅ We ’d been there for one another every single day.

German speakers sometimes confuse reciprocal pro-
nouns and object pronouns. If you can use einander
in German, use a reciprocal pronoun in English. So,
don’t say, “We’ll see us later.” Instead, say, “We’ll see
each other later.” Exercise:

The right pronoun

no pronoun neededA.

There’s no need to B.

be nervous — just be

. yourself


I’d rather hire an C.

accountant than do

the bookkeeping

. myself


They’re getting D.

married, even though

each they don’t love

. other


Ben runs his own business selling custom-made
shoes.

I’ll be 80 next month. I trained as a dressmaker,
and then I taught myself to make shoes and other
leather products, such as belts and bags.
My partner, Phil, was an accountant. A winning
combination, we thought! So, we taught each oth-
er our respective skills — shoemaking and book-
keeping —and opened our own business. It was a
big success from day one.
Phil died in 2010. I fell into a deep depression. I
had no energy to get up and wash in the morning,
let alone go to work. We’d been there for one an-
other every single day. I’d never be able to cope by
myself, I thought.
But I’m an optimist at heart. One fine day, I said
to myself: “Pull yourself together, Ben. You have
plenty of loyal customers. What can go wrong?”
Still, no business can run itself. So, a few years
ago, I decided to hire an assistant. Jasmine’s taken
over a lot of my work, but I always do the fittings
myself. I’m a people person, and I love the cus-
tomer contact.
I don’t have plans to retire any time soon. My
motto is: why stop as long as we’re still enjoying
ourselves?

Exercise: The right pronoun

Add a reflexive or reciprocal pronoun where one
or the other makes sense.

A. I always shower and dress before breakfast.
B. There’s no need to be nervous — just be.
C. I’d rather hire an accountant than do the
bookkeeping.
D. They’re getting married, even though they
don’t love.

E

AUDIO + PLUS
You can try our
exercises on this
topic on Business
Spotlight Audio
as well as in our
exercise booklet,
Business Spotlight
Plus. To order, go
to http://www.aboshop.
spotlight-verlag.de
Free download pdf