Reciprocal Constructions

Reciprocal constructions express mutual action or relation among participants. Turkish uses the base birbir- with possessive and case suffixes to mark reciprocity between a plural or coordinated subject and a shared object or complement.

1. Function

Reciprocal forms indicate that participants act upon one another or are mutually related.
The subject must be plural or coordinated, and birbir- refers back to this subject set.

2. Morphological Structure

2.1. Base

The nominal base is birbir-.

Possessive suffixes attach to form person–number-specific reciprocal pronouns:

• birbirim (I, each other — very rare)

• birbirin (you sg., each other — very rare)

• birbiri (3sg possessive; widely used especially with 3pl subjects)

• birbirimiz (we, each other)

• birbiriniz (you pl/formal, each other)

• birbirleri (they, each other)

3rd person note (critical academic rule):

With Onlar or coordinated NP subjects, both forms occur:

• birbirini (3sg possessive)

• birbirlerini (3pl possessive)

Both are grammatical and widely used.
Textbooks typically list birbirlerini, but birbirini is extremely common and must be recognized as a core variant.

2.2. Case Marking

Case suffixes attach after the possessive suffix.

Accusative:

• birbirini, birbirimizi, birbirinizi, birbirlerini

Dative:

• birbirine, birbirimize, birbirinize, birbirlerine

Ablative:

• birbirinden, birbirimizden, birbirinizden, birbirlerinden

Locative:

• birbirinde, birbirimizde, birbirinizde, birbirlerinde

Instrumental (with ile):

• birbiriyle / birbirimizle / birbirinizle / birbirleriyle

3. Syntactic Requirements

• The subject must be plural or coordinated (Biz, Siz, Onlar, Ali ve Ayşe).

• birbir- refers to the entire subject set.

• It appears as direct object or as an oblique complement (dative, ablative, locative, instrumental).

• Verbs are typically transitive or require an oblique complement that can be filled reciprocally.

4. Reciprocal Direct Object

When birbir- is marked with the accusative, it functions as the reciprocal direct object.

Examples:

• Biz birbirimizi anlıyoruz. (We understand each other.)

• Siz birbirinizi tanıyorsunuz. (You know each other.)

• Onlar birbirini seviyor. (They love each other.)

• Onlar birbirlerini bekliyor. (They are waiting for each other.)

• Ali ve Ayşe birbirini gördü. (Ali and Ayşe saw each other.)

(“birbirini” and “birbirlerini” are both acceptable for 3pl subjects.)

5. Reciprocal with Postpositions

5.1. Instrumental (ile)

• Biz birbirimizle konuşuyoruz. (We are speaking with each other.)

• Onlar birbirleriyle tartışıyor. (They are arguing with each other.)

5.2. Dative (goal/benefit)

• Biz birbirimize yardım ediyoruz. (We help each other.)

• Onlar birbirlerine güveniyor. (They trust each other.)

5.3. Ablative (source/separation)

• Biz birbirimizden şikâyet etmiyoruz. (We do not complain about each other.)

• Onlar birbirlerinden hoşlanmıyor. (They do not like each other.)

5.4. Locative (state/location)

• İki grup birbirinde değil. (The two groups are not within each other / not aligned.)

• Onlar birbirlerinde kaldı. (They stayed at each other's places.)

6. Reciprocal Relations Without Direct Object

Reciprocal meaning appears in oblique constructions where birbir- is the complement rather than the object.

Examples:

• Biz birbirimize benziyoruz. (We resemble each other.)

• Onlar birbirlerine alıştı. (They got used to each other.)

• İki şehir birbirinden uzak. (The two cities are far from each other.)

• Öğrenciler birbirinden öğreniyor. (Students learn from each other.)