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Reciprocal Construction Verbs by Ronald Glenn Wrigley, M.A.

Reciprocal verbs express a reciprocal action. By definition, they must have a plural subject.

Noi ci vediamo ogni giorno. We see each other every day.

The action of the verb in the sentence above is reciprocal: “I see you every day, and you see me every day.” = “

We see each other every day.”The expression ci vediamo could have two possible meanings: “we see ourselves” (reflexive) or “we see each other” (reciprocal). The context of the conversation will help to clear up any misunderstandings.

Exercise 8: Reflexive or Reciprocal?

Are the following verbs reflexive or reciprocal? Or both? Circle your answer and check Appendix D to see if you're right.

<tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>1. Mi sveglio alle otto ogni mattina.</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>reflexive, reciprocal, both</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>2. Io e Marco ci scriviamo ogni giorno.</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>reflexive, reciprocal, both</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>3. Mario e Angela si salutano.</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>reflexive, reciprocal, both</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>4. Non mi sento molto bene.</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>reflexive, reciprocal, both</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>5. Ci vediamo.</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>reflexive, reciprocal, both</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <h2>Exercise 9: Forming Reciprocal Verbs</h2> <ul> <li><p><emphasis>Io vedo Marco. Marco vede me.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Tu scrivi a tuo nonno. Tuo nonno scrive a te.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Massimo saluta Monica. Monica saluta Massimo.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Io mi sposo con Elena. Elena si sposa con me.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Tu vedi i tuoi amici ogni sabato sera. 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