Thread: to fall in love with smb

I always felt confused about the translation of our Russian verb "влюбиться" into English. I know it's "to fall in love with smb". This "with" confuses me most of all. Doesn't this "with" have a shade of being in love "together with somebody", that is that the love is mutual? It's just that if you translate the expression into Russian literally (впасть в любовь с кем-то), the phrase will be quite clumsy, but will make sense, and it'll definitely have the meaning that it's a mutual love.
So, does the "with" have a nuance of reciprocity in English?

There is no implication of reciprocity at all. There are quite a few expressions where "with" doesn't carry the meaning of "togetherness" or mutuality, e.g. to be happy/angry/pleased with someone/something, etc.

Originally Posted by Оля

So, does the "with" have a nuance of reciprocity in English?

I'm not 100% sure, but I think "with" is used in a sense of "by", similar to: "I'm fed up with what you're doing." Does that make sense?

I fell in love with that car!
There is no implication of reciprocity, it may be reciprocal or it may not, context will tell.
I fell in love with him, but he didn't love me.
Reciprocity is expressed by using "we": We fell in love.
The preposition "with" doesn't mean a joint feeling or action, it indicates an object.
I never noticed that before, perhaps that could be considered an unusual or idiomatic usage of "with."

Thank you all.

Does that make sense?

Yes, perfectly!

'With' can point out an equivalent of Russian Instrumental case.