VOA慢速英语2021--Each Other and One Another

 

Hello! This week we answer a question from Umut in Turkey.

Question:

I would like to learn the difference between "each other" and "one another." Thanks in advance.

Umut, Turkey.

Answer:

Dear Umut,

Thank you for writing to us. The pronoun¹ "each other" means² that every member of a group of people or animals does something for or to the other members of the group. Imagine you see two neighbors passing on the street. As they pass, they wave and say, "Hello!" You could say:

Carlos waved at Ishmael.

Ishmael waved at Carlos.

But that is not the easy way to talk about what you see. Instead, you can say:

Carlos and Ishmael waved at each other.

Let us take a look at more examples of how we use it.

I heard the cats fighting with each other last night.

The teacher asked students to help each other in their groups.

In some cases, you can make a possessive pronoun from "each other" by adding an apostrophe and the letter "s."

The children walked two by two, holding each other's hands.

At Christmas, the family gets together and opens each other's gifts.

One another

You asked us to compare how we use the expression "one another." I read in one dictionary that some English speakers use "one another" when talking about three or more members of a group, while using "each other" when talking about just two members of a group. If that is the case, then you would find statements³ like this:

The baseball players all shook hands with one another after the game.

Andy and Reyna are always joking with each other.

But I do not think that many of us follow that rule. Instead, we use "one another" in careful or polite speech or writing and "each other" in more casual⁴ speech.

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Words in This Story

polite –adj. having or showing good manners⁵ or respect for other people

casual –adj. not formal; done without much thought or effort

1 pronoun   

n.代词

参考例句：

• The relative pronoun is often dropped if it is the subject.关系代名词做受词时常被省略。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 statements   

n.声明( statement的名词复数 )；（思想、观点、文章主题等的）表现；（文字）陈述；结算单

参考例句：

• We are faced with two apparently contradictory statements. 我们面前这两种说法显然是矛盾的。
• The report is inconsistent with the financial statements. 这个报告与财务报表内容不一致。

4 casual   

adj.漠不关心，冷漠的；随便的，非正式的；偶然的，碰巧的

参考例句：

• He earns a living by casual labour.他靠做临时工为生。
• The guests wore casual clothes.客人们穿着便服。

5 manners   

n.礼貌；规矩

参考例句：

• You should mend your manners.你的态度应当纠正。
• His manners are rough,but he is a kind man at heart.他虽然举止粗鲁，但心地善良。