Blog about English
Using each other and one another.
Reciprocal pronouns express a mutual relationship between two or more people or things.
English has two reciprocal pronouns: each other and one another.
Tom and Anna help each other with their homework.
Том и Анна помогают друг другу с домашним заданием.
"Each other" shows that the action is mutual between Tom and Anna.
The two friends trust each other.
Два друга доверяют друг другу.
"Each other" expresses a mutual relationship between two people.
The students support one another during the exam.
Студенты поддерживают друг друга во время экзамена.
"One another" shows that the students mutually support one another.
The neighbors often help each other.
Соседи часто помогают друг другу.
"Each other" refers to a mutual action among the neighbors.
The players congratulated one another after the game.
Игроки поздравили друг друга после игры.
"One another" expresses a shared action among several players.
We should listen to each other.
Нам следует слушать друг друга.
"Each other" means that both sides should listen mutually.
The children smiled at each other.
Дети улыбнулись друг другу.
"Each other" expresses a mutual relationship.
The team members respect one another.
Члены команды уважают друг друга.
"One another" refers to mutual respect among the members.
Each other is commonly used when two people or things perform the same action toward one another.
Example: Tom and Anna helped each other.
Tom and Sarah help each other at work.
Том и Сара помогают друг другу на работе.
"Each other" is used for a mutual action between the two people.
The brothers often call each other.
Братья часто звонят друг другу.
"Each other" shows that the brothers call one another mutually.
The two dogs were chasing each other.
Две собаки гонялись друг за другом.
"Each other" can describe mutual actions between animals.
We text each other every day.
Мы каждый день пишем друг другу сообщения.
"Each other" means both people send messages to the other.
They looked at each other and laughed.
Они посмотрели друг на друга и рассмеялись.
"Each other" expresses a mutual direction of the action.
The students compared their answers with each other.
Студенты сравнили свои ответы друг с другом.
"Each other" indicates that the students compared their answers mutually.
The couple smiled at each other.
Пара улыбнулась друг другу.
"Each other" refers to the two people in the couple.
They listened to each other carefully.
Они внимательно слушали друг друга.
"Each other" shows that both participants listened to the other.
One another is traditionally used when more than two people or things are involved.
Example: The students encouraged one another throughout the competition.
The students helped one another with the assignment.
Студенты помогали друг другу с заданием.
"One another" expresses a mutual action among several students.
The team members encouraged one another.
Члены команды поддерживали друг друга.
"One another" expresses mutual encouragement within the group.
The children were teaching one another new games.
Дети учили друг друга новым играм.
"One another" describes reciprocal teaching among several children.
The coworkers respect one another.
Коллеги уважают друг друга.
"One another" expresses mutual respect.
The neighbors shared information with one another.
Соседи обменялись информацией друг с другом.
"One another" indicates that the neighbors shared information mutually.
The scientists compared their results with one another.
Ученые сравнили свои результаты друг с другом.
"One another" refers to reciprocal comparison among several scientists.
The players congratulated one another after the tournament.
Игроки поздравили друг друга после турнира.
"One another" expresses mutual congratulations.
The members of the committee disagreed with one another.
Члены комитета не соглашались друг с другом.
"One another" indicates disagreement among the committee members.
Modern English often uses each other and one another interchangeably.
The traditional distinction between two participants and more than two is no longer strictly observed.
The two sisters help each other.
Две сестры помогают друг другу.
"Each other" is natural for two participants.
The two sisters help one another.
Две сестры помогают друг другу.
"One another" is also possible even when only two people are involved.
The students help each other with homework.
Студенты помогают друг другу с домашним заданием.
"Each other" is widely used for groups of more than two people.
The students help one another with homework.
Студенты помогают друг другу с домашним заданием.
"One another" is equally natural in modern English.
The three friends text each other every day.
Трое друзей каждый день пишут друг другу сообщения.
Modern English commonly uses "each other" with groups larger than two.
The three friends text one another every day.
Трое друзей каждый день пишут друг другу сообщения.
"One another" is also common and does not have to be restricted to more than two participants.
The brothers blamed each other for the mistake.
Братья винили друг друга в ошибке.
"Each other" is natural regardless of the traditional two-person distinction.
The brothers blamed one another for the mistake.
Братья винили друг друга в ошибке.
"One another" has essentially the same reciprocal meaning here.
Reciprocal pronouns indicate that the action is shared equally between participants.
They differ from reflexive pronouns, which refer back to the subject individually.
They helped each other.
Они помогли друг другу.
The action is reciprocal: each person helped the other.
They helped themselves.
Они помогли себе.
"Themselves" refers to each person individually, not to a mutual relationship.
The two friends looked at each other.
Два друга посмотрели друг на друга.
Each participant looked at the other participant.
The two friends looked at themselves in the mirror.
Два друга посмотрели на себя в зеркало.
"Themselves" refers back to each person individually.
The neighbors often talk to each other.
Соседи часто разговаривают друг с другом.
The interaction goes from one participant to another and back.
The children washed themselves before dinner.
Дети сами помылись перед ужином.
"Themselves" means that each child washed their own body.
The two companies compete with each other.
Две компании конкурируют друг с другом.
"Each other" expresses the mutual relationship between the companies.
The players prepared themselves for the game.
Игроки подготовились к игре.
"Themselves" means each player prepared their own self, not that the players prepared one another.
Reciprocal pronouns may form possessive expressions.
Examples include each other's ideas and one another's opinions.
The students shared each other's notes.
Студенты поделились друг с другом своими записями.
"Each other's" shows possession in a reciprocal relationship.
The team members respected one another's opinions.
Члены команды уважали мнения друг друга.
"One another's" marks mutual possession.
The two sisters borrowed each other's clothes.
Две сестры брали одежду друг друга.
"Each other's clothes" means the clothes belonging to one another.
The neighbors knew each other's names.
Соседи знали имена друг друга.
"Each other's names" expresses reciprocal possession.
The students read one another's essays.
Студенты прочитали эссе друг друга.
"One another's" shows that the essays belong to the respective students.
The two companies reviewed each other's proposals.
Две компании рассмотрели предложения друг друга.
"Each other's proposals" expresses mutual possession.
The players knew one another's strengths and weaknesses.
Игроки знали сильные и слабые стороны друг друга.
"One another's" is used before the possessed nouns.
The partners understood each other's concerns.
Партнеры понимали опасения друг друга.
"Each other's" indicates reciprocal ownership or association.
Reciprocal pronouns may follow prepositions.
Examples include talking to each other, learning from one another and working with each other.
They talked to each other after the meeting.
Они поговорили друг с другом после собрания.
"Each other" follows the preposition "to".
The students learned from one another.
Студенты учились друг у друга.
"One another" follows the preposition "from".
The coworkers work with each other every day.
Коллеги каждый день работают друг с другом.
"Each other" follows "with".
The two friends relied on each other.
Два друга полагались друг на друга.
"Each other" follows the preposition "on".
The team members argued with one another.
Члены команды спорили друг с другом.
"One another" follows the preposition "with".
The children shared the toys between each other.
Дети делили игрушки между собой.
"Between each other" occurs in usage, although "between themselves" may be preferred depending on the intended meaning.
The students compared their answers with one another.
Студенты сравнили свои ответы друг с другом.
"One another" follows "with" and expresses reciprocal comparison.
The neighbors spoke about each other during the meeting.
Соседи говорили друг о друге во время собрания.
"Each other" follows the preposition "about".
Collective nouns may take reciprocal pronouns when the members interact mutually.
Example: The team congratulated each other after the match (more naturally: the team members congratulated each other).
The team members congratulated each other after the game.
Члены команды поздравили друг друга после игры.
"Team members" clearly refers to individuals, making the reciprocal meaning explicit.
The committee members disagreed with one another.
Члены комитета не соглашались друг с другом.
"Committee members" identifies the individuals involved in the mutual action.
The players encouraged each other during the game.
Игроки поддерживали друг друга во время игры.
"Each other" refers to mutual encouragement among the players.
The members of the family support one another.
Члены семьи поддерживают друг друга.
"Members" makes the reciprocal participants explicit.
The staff members often help each other.
Сотрудники часто помогают друг другу.
"Staff members" clearly refers to individuals rather than the group as one unit.
The audience members were talking to one another.
Зрители разговаривали друг с другом.
"Audience members" makes the individual participants clear.
The board members know each other well.
Члены совета хорошо знают друг друга.
"Board members" refers to the people who interact with one another.
The team members blamed one another for the loss.
Члены команды винили друг друга в поражении.
"One another" clearly expresses mutual blame among the members.
Reciprocal pronouns should clearly express mutual relationships.
Rephrase sentences when the reciprocal meaning is unclear or could be interpreted as reflexive.
John and Mark looked at each other.
Джон и Марк посмотрели друг на друга.
"Each other" clearly means John looked at Mark and Mark looked at John.
John and Mark looked at themselves in the mirror.
Джон и Марк посмотрели на себя в зеркало.
"Themselves" means each person looked at their own reflection.
The two managers criticized each other.
Два менеджера критиковали друг друга.
The reciprocal pronoun makes the mutual direction of criticism clear.
The two managers criticized themselves.
Два менеджера критиковали себя.
"Themselves" gives a different meaning: each manager criticized their own actions.
The players congratulated each other after the game.
Игроки поздравили друг друга после игры.
"Each other" avoids the ambiguity that could arise with a reflexive pronoun.
The players congratulated themselves after the game.
Игроки поздравили сами себя после игры.
"Themselves" means the players praised or congratulated their own group.
The neighbors talked about each other.
Соседи говорили друг о друге.
"Each other" expresses a mutual topic of discussion.
The neighbors talked about themselves.
Соседи говорили о себе.
"Themselves" means each person talked about their own self or group.
Formal writing may preserve the traditional distinction between each other and one another, although both are widely accepted.
Modern style guides generally treat the two expressions as interchangeable.
The two departments support each other.
Два отдела поддерживают друг друга.
"Each other" is fully acceptable in formal writing.
The two departments support one another.
Два отдела поддерживают друг друга.
"One another" is also acceptable in formal writing.
The researchers exchanged ideas with one another.
Исследователи обменивались идеями друг с другом.
"One another" may sound slightly more formal in some contexts.
The researchers exchanged ideas with each other.
Исследователи обменивались идеями друг с другом.
"Each other" is equally grammatical in formal writing.
The parties agreed to inform one another of any changes.
Стороны договорились информировать друг друга о любых изменениях.
"One another" is natural in formal legal or administrative writing.
The parties agreed to inform each other of any changes.
Стороны договорились информировать друг друга о любых изменениях.
"Each other" is also standard and accepted in the same formal context.
The members should respect one another's views.
Члены должны уважать мнения друг друга.
"One another's" is a formal-looking possessive reciprocal construction.
The members should respect each other's views.
Члены должны уважать мнения друг друга.
"Each other's" is equally acceptable in formal English.
Some common expressions naturally contain reciprocal pronouns.
Examples include know each other, trust each other and support one another.
We have known each other for years.
Мы знаем друг друга много лет.
"Know each other" is a common fixed expression describing an established mutual relationship.
They trust each other completely.
Они полностью доверяют друг другу.
"Trust each other" is a common reciprocal expression.
The two friends support one another.
Два друга поддерживают друг друга.
"Support one another" is a common fixed-like reciprocal expression.
The neighbors know each other well.
Соседи хорошо знают друг друга.
"Know each other" is commonly used for people with an established relationship.
The team members rely on each other.
Члены команды полагаются друг на друга.
"Rely on each other" is a common reciprocal expression.
The coworkers respect one another.
Коллеги уважают друг друга.
"Respect one another" expresses mutual respect.
The siblings take care of each other.
Братья и сестры заботятся друг о друге.
"Take care of each other" is a common reciprocal expression.
The partners depend on one another.
Партнеры зависят друг от друга.
"Depend on one another" expresses mutual dependence.
Do not confuse reciprocal pronouns with reflexive pronouns.
Common mistakes include using themselves instead of each other, omitting the possessive apostrophe in each other's and overusing one another based on outdated grammar rules.
The two boys helped each other.
Два мальчика помогли друг другу.
Use "each other" for a reciprocal action, not "themselves".
The students helped themselves to some food.
Студенты сами взяли себе еды.
"Themselves" has a reflexive meaning here, not a reciprocal one.
The neighbors talked to each other.
Соседи разговаривали друг с другом.
Use "each other" to express mutual interaction.
The neighbors talked to themselves.
Соседи разговаривали сами с собой.
"Themselves" changes the meaning and does not express a mutual relationship.
The students read each other's essays.
Студенты прочитали эссе друг друга.
Use an apostrophe in the possessive form "each other's".
The team members respect one another's opinions.
Члены команды уважают мнения друг друга.
"One another's" is the possessive form.
The three students helped each other.
Трое студентов помогали друг другу.
Do not assume that "each other" is limited strictly to two participants in modern English.
The three students helped one another.
Трое студентов помогали друг другу.
Do not assume that "one another" must be used only with more than two participants.