Thread: Друг (?) друга...

It's hard to how to use "Друг (?) друга".

The thing that is hard is to know which to put in between the two words.
Is anyone other than me finding this hard?

Perhaps it's only hard for me because Russian prepositions are still a bit confusing for me. But I much say that English has only one word for this, and it DOES make life easier....

How should I go about understanding this asap...? Some examples would be good.

-They are sitting next to each other
-Anna and Ivan love each other.
-They are facing each other.
-They have no feelings for each other anymore.
-All they do is fight with each other...

....more good ones, if you can think of any?

The ones I know are:

Друг на друга
друг друга
Друг к другу
друг с другом
друг против друга
друг от друга
друг под друга

And why, when I googled "ДРУГ К ДРУГУ" did I get lots of pictures of the American TV series "Friends".

Olya helped me to translate some sentences into Russian a while back and some of them had examples of this expression, but I need more...

Everything is very easy. Just instead of "each" and "other" use "друг" twice. The first one is always indeclinable. The second one depends on the preposition (or the verb, if there is no preposition in the phrase).
Also, move the preposition, put it between of the "другs" (unlike the English construction where it stands before the two words, "each other").

They love each other.
Они любят друг друга.
The first друг is indeclinable. The second one depends on the verb любить which requires the accusative case. The accusative of друг is друга. So you have "друг друга".

They're looking at each other.
Они смотрят друг на друга.
The first друг is indeclinable. The second one depends on the preposition and the verb ("смотреть на...") which require the accusative case. The preposition should be in the middle of другs. So it's "друг на друга".

They're talking to each other.
Они разговаривают друг с другом.
The first друг is indeclinable. The second one depends on the presosition and the verb ("разговаривать с..."), it's the instrumental case. Put the preposition between two другs. So it's "друг с другом".

There is also the construcion "друг с дружкой", "друг дружку", "друг на дружку", etc; it's the same, only is more colloquial.

put it between of the "другs"
in between the "другs"

in between - это для обозначения месторасположения между чем-то и чем-то.
Напр.
the Ih-sound in the "sit" word sounds in between the russian И and Ы sounds.
The shop is in between the cinema and theater.
Nose is in between one's eyes.

between - для выбора между чем-то и чем-то.

Я не очень люблю, когда меня не поправляют

Originally Posted by Eugene-p

Я не очень люблю, когда меня не поправляют

Прямо готовая подпись.

One more example for Johanna.
They like each other.
Они нравятся друг другу.
The verb нравиться requires the dative case. The dative of друг is другу. So you have "друг другу".

I will probably add nothing new to what has already been answered.

I just like finding some analogies. To understand foreign language constructions, sometimes it can be useful to imagine how a literal translation would work, despite it's being grammatically wrong.

So, if English worked the same way, we would say:
They talked to each other. = They talked friend to friend.
They are afraid of each other. = They are afraid friend of friend.
They cannot live without each other. = They cannot live friend without friend.
They fight with each other. = They fight friend with friend.

Of course, Russian nouns are a bit different from English ones, since English only utilizes prepositions while Russian involves cases as well. But the idea is the same as in the examples above.

Wow, these are great explanations. My knowledge of formal grammar is still a bit sketchy but this helps a lot.

SUMMARY:

Originally Posted by Grammatical construction of [b

each other[/b] in Russian]
They talked to each other. = They talked friend to friend.
They are afraid of each other. = They are afraid friend of friend.
They cannot live without each other. = They cannot live friend without friend.
They fight with each other. = They fight friend with friend.

They love each other. ==> Они любят друг друга.
The first друг is indeclinable. The second one depends on the verb любить which requires the accusative case. The accusative of друг is друга.

They're looking at each other. ==> Они смотрят друг на друга.
The first друг is indeclinable. The second one depends on the preposition and the verb ("смотреть на...") which require the accusative case. The preposition should be in the middle of другs. So it's "друг на друга".

They're talking to each other. ==> Они разговаривают друг с другом.
The first друг is indeclinable. The second one depends on the presosition and the verb ("разговаривать с..."), it's the instrumental case. Put the preposition between two другs. So it's "друг с другом".

They like each other. ==> Они нравятся друг другу.
The verb нравиться requires the dative case. The dative of друг is другу. So you have "друг другу".

THANKS EVERYONE!!! I wish there was something I could help with in return...

Are my first translations correct? (I want to use these sentences too, for practice... )
I can't translate the other two because I don't know what words are used for fighting (arguing) or the other expression...

They talked to each other. = They talked friend to friend. Они поговорили друг с другом.
They are afraid of each other. = They are afraid friend of friend. Они боятся друг друга.
They cannot live without each other. = They cannot live friend without friend.
They fight with each other. = They fight friend with friend.

Originally Posted by Johanna

Are my first translations correct? (I want to use these sentences too, for practice... )
I can't translate the other two because I don't know what words are used for fighting (arguing) or the other expression...

They talked to each other. = They talked friend to friend. Они поговорили друг с другом.
They are afraid of each other. = They are afraid friend of friend. Они боятся друг друга.
They cannot live without each other. = They cannot live friend without friend.
They fight with each other. = They fight friend with friend.

ОК.

Они не могут жить друг без друга.
Они ссорятся(?) друг с другом.

BTW in this phrase "друг" does not really mean "friend". It originates from the word "другой"="other" in a short form. (Though the word "friend" originates from "другой" as well).

I am back on this...

Can you help me with an example of how to use these?

друг под друга
друг к другу
друг в друга
друг от друга
друг у друга
друг за другом
друг с другом

I need sentences that contain these expressions, and a really good translation into English!

Very grateful for help!

You should use a preposition you would normally use with the verb in question, put it between "друг"'s and then change the case of the second "друг" accordingly.
eg.
Взять у друга* (*or any other noun in gen.case) = to take from a friend
взять друг у друга = to take from each other

1. Мы повернулись друг к другу, несмело улыбаясь - We turned to each other, smiling tentatively (повернуться к кому-то)
2. Они влюбились друг в друга с первого взгляда - They fell in love with each other at first glance (влюбиться в кого-то)
3. Мы ничего не скрываем друг от друга - We don't hide anything from each other (скрывать от кого-либо)
4. Учитель рассердился, когда заметил, что дети списывают друг у друга - A teacher got angry when he noticed that kids cribbed from each other (списывать у кого-то)
5.Посетитель зоопарка и обезьяна с интересом наблюдали друг за другом - A visitor at the Zoo and a monkey watched each other with interest (наблюдать за кем-то)
6. Пожалуйста, будьте честны друг с другом - Please be honest to each other (быть честным с кем-то)

друг под друга - Они маскируются друг под друга. They disguise so that the former one has camouflage of the latter one and on the contrary.
друг к другу - Они приблизились друг к другу. They've approached one to each other.
друг в друга - Они влюбились друг в друга. They've fallen in love mutually.
друг от друга - Они отдалились друг от друга. They've drifted apart(moved away) one from each other.
друг у друга - Они спрашивали друг у друга разные вопросы. They were asking each other different questions.
друг за другом - Они шли друг за другом. They were walking one after another.
друг с другом - Они поладили друг с другом. They've got on with each other.

Originally Posted by mcz

Они спрашивали друг у друга разные вопросы.

@Johanna This one is WRONG.

Proper examples:

Они задавали друг другу разные вопросы. They were asking each other different questions.

Они частенько брали друг у друга взаймы. They often lent money from each other.

@mcz Ты эту фразу, случаем, не у Равшана из Нашей Раши подслушал? .

Originally Posted by Basil77

@Johanna This one is WRONG.
Proper examples:
Они задавали друг другу разные вопросы.

+10

Available options:
спрашивать о чем-то (or про что-то) - Маленькие дети любят спрашивать обо всём на свете.
задавать вопросы о чем-то (or про что-то) - Я не люблю, когда мне задают вопросы о моей работе.

Try to remember not to use "спрашивать вопросы", use "задавать вопросы" instead.
Otherwise it's a bit like mixing "he questioned me" and "he asked me a question" into "he questioned me a question".

Originally Posted by Basil77

Ты эту фразу, случаем, не у Равшана из Нашей Раши подслушал? .

да, хотел заменить "вопросы" на что-то типа "варианты ответов", но не успел- уснул))..
+10 "Меня опрашивали по вопросам применения межсетевых экранов" I was questioned about the cases of usage of firewalls.

Johanna, maybe it helps you to think of the English 'one another' instead of 'each other'. In English you get 'one with the other', 'one to the other' etc. as permutations.

Robin

Thanks for the great examples and explanations.
Sooner or later I will nail this one... ! It is the different structure that makes it confusing. The preposition in between doesn't match what you'd expect in a Germanic or Romance language.

I realise that this is the sort of thing that makes Russian such a precise language and a good language for poetry, prose, litterature...