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Foto: Peter WeberBusiness Spotlight 6/2019 LANGUAGELANGUAGE
GRAMMARReflexive 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. betreibenANNA HOCHSIEDER
is a Munich-based
teacher of
English who writes
regularly in
Business Spotlight.
Contact:
a.hochsieder@
googlemail.comAnswersEXPLANATIONS
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 pronounno pronoun neededA.There’s no need to B.be nervous — just be. yourself
I’d rather hire an C.accountant than dothe bookkeeping. myself
They’re getting D.married, even thougheach 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 pronounAdd 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.EAUDIO + 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