# С которой он был знаком / они были знакомы



## MAROUSSE

Last question for today : I read : "никому не показывать соей слабости. даже жене, с которой они были знакомы с самого детства". Coud we turn the last sentence into : "даже жене, с которой он был знаком с самого детства". (which looks more simple to me, according to my own native language...)


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## Awwal12

We could, although that variant sounds a bit off to me (probably because the most relevant part is that his wife knew him, not that he knew her).


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## Rosett

MAROUSSE said:


> "никому не показывать соей слабости. даже жене, с которой они были знакомы с самого детства". Could we turn the last sentence into : "даже жене, с которой он был знаком с самого детства". (which looks more simple to me, according to my own native language...)


C’est plutôt parce que ce genre de relations est réciproque, que l’on utilise la formule au pluriel.


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## nizzebro

The second (singular) option could be "которую он знал с самого детства".  I agree with Awwal12 ;   "быть знакомым с.",  when used in the singular, is accented on the subject; it also could mean having been introduced to that person in the past - or, in the case of  an inanimate object, having some primary knowledge about it or being aware of the existence of some notion.


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## MAROUSSE

Thank you Nizzebro . My understanding is increasing thanks to you... I better catch the different aspect of the word  "быть знакомым с "


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## hopeItSoundsGood

Awwal12 said:


> We could, although that variant sounds a bit off to me (probably because the most relevant part is that his wife knew him, not that he knew her).


You mean that it's still possible that he knew his wife and she didn't know him? Is that the most important part?


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## hopeItSoundsGood

MAROUSSE said:


> Last question for today : I read : "никому не показывать соей слабости. даже жене, с которой они были знакомы с самого детства". Coud we turn the last sentence into : "даже жене, с которой он был знаком с самого детства". (which looks more simple to me, according to my own native language...)


There's a subtle difference here.

Your wording doesn't say anything about the fact that they are approximately the same age, the original one does.


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## Awwal12

hopeItSoundsGood said:


> You mean that it's still possible that he knew his wife and she didn't know him?


 That's not really likely.  But it's always *pragmatically* important what you make the subject of the clause.


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## MAROUSSE

I understand very well the difference between "он был знаком" and "они были знакомы" since we have more or less the same in French. The point is : my question stressed upon the use of  2 terms that we wouldn't put together in my language : "с которой" on one hand, and "они были знакомы" on the other hand. The combination of the two sounded a little bit queer to me. In French, if you say "с которой" , you cannot  then use a verb + adjective including the two persons involved. Thanks every body.


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## nizzebro

MAROUSSE said:


> "с которой" on one hand, and "они были знакомы" on the other hand. The combination of the two sounded a little bit queer to me. I


Yes, it is quite tricky. I would say that, while in the case of "он был знаком",  the prepositional "с ней" (or "c которой" or "с той ..." ) obviously modifies the verb,  in the case of "они были знакомы", the additional "с ней"/"c которой" may be treated as a modifier of "они", resulting in "они с ней" where "с" acts as "and" - something like  "they together: he and she".  The same pattern works with "мы" and  "вы".:
Мы с ней вчера ходили в театр.
Мы с той девушкой, с которой я был в Париже, не встречались ранее.
Вы с ним любите друг друга?
Вы с этим парнем - с которым я вас видел вместе - давно виделись последний раз?
These "you-with-him" (or " they-with-her" etc) are of the same sort as, for example, "you all".


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## MAROUSSE

Nizzebro, while reading your thread, I was thinking about this exemple " Мы с ней " that of course I noticed many time in the Russian language. I do not have the reflex to say that in russian (as a matter of fact I don't have any "reflex" at all since I dont really speak russian, or very painfully, but I can read easy books...). So it mattered to me to know if I could turn the sentence into a more familiar structure like " с которой он был знаком", event if it sounds a bit colloquial... I got the answer. Thank you very much. I love this site.


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## nizzebro

What about being less or more colloquial, these constructions are equally used.
Probably, the only feature of the "мы с X" is a chance to avoid fronting the leading person but picture a common action.
Я и Лена обедали... - sounds selfish
Лена и я обедали... - could sound as if I care too much of Lena.
Я обедал с Леной... - sounds good only as a way to accent that, at this lunch, Lena was my company.
Мы с Леной обедали.... - we, as a single whole, had (or were having) our lunch .
(gender doesn't matter)


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## MAROUSSE

ouaaah... I see. But... it seems to me that it goes too far. In French also, all these variations can sound differently but only, If I may say so, if you want them to sound differently. However, I'll will memorize the last one. It sounds good to my ear now... Good night


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## Nanon

Still, you could slightly change the structure in French to convey the reciprocity idea and you could use third person plural. Compare _même pas à sa femme qu'il connaissait depuis l'enfance_ with _même pas à sa femme, alors qu'ils se connaissaient depuis l'enfance_.


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## MAROUSSE

Pas mal mais le sens de "alors que" ne me semble pas présent dans la phrase russe. Je crois bien qu'on peut rapprocher ma phrase de la structure typiquement russe " Мы с Леной обедали " (exemple donné par Nizzebro). Dans ce cas il s'agit seulement d'une structure idiomatique qu'il faut apprendre par coeur et qu'on peut appliquer dans bien des cas. Merci !


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## Nanon

Je ne voulais pas dire que "alors que" était présent dans la phrase russe mais que, moyennant un changement, il était possible d'exprimer la réciprocité en français aussi.


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## MAROUSSE

oui mais en tordant un peu la phrase  
Merci de votre intervention, c'est toujours riche d'enseignement.


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