Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns are words that show two or more people doing the same action to each other. In English, there are two reciprocal pronouns: each other and one another.

What You'll Learn

How to use each other when talking about two people
How to use one another when talking about more than two people
How reciprocal pronouns show that an action goes both ways

When to Use

When two people do the same action to each other: "My sister and I helped each other with our homework."
When more than two people do the same action: "The pupils in the group encouraged one another before the race."
When you want to show that an action goes both ways: "The two friends wrote letters to each other during the holidays."
When people share feelings or actions equally: "Tom and Jerry looked at each other and smiled."

How to Form

Choosing the Right Reciprocal Pronoun

Reciprocal Pronoun	When to Use	Example
each other	Two people or things	Mei Ling and Siti smiled at each other.
one another	Three or more people	The five teammates cheered for one another during Sports Day.

How Reciprocal Pronouns Work

A reciprocal pronoun replaces the need to say the same action twice. Instead of repeating who did what to whom, the reciprocal pronoun shows the action goes both ways.

Without Reciprocal Pronoun	With Reciprocal Pronoun
Ali helped Ben. Ben helped Ali.	Ali and Ben helped each other.
Rina called Priya. Priya called Rina.	Rina and Priya called each other.
The children shared with the other children.	The children shared with one another.
All the pupils greeted the other pupils in the morning.	All the pupils greeted one another in the morning.

Reciprocal Pronouns vs Reflexive Pronouns

You have already learnt about reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, themselves). Reciprocal pronouns are different because the action goes between people, not back to the same person.

Type	Pronoun	What It Means	Example
Reflexive	themselves	The action goes back to them	They dressed themselves.
Reciprocal	each other	The action goes between them	They helped each other.

Key Rules

Use "each other" for two people: When the sentence talks about exactly two people doing something to one another, use each other. "My brother and I always help each other."
Use "one another" for three or more people: When the sentence talks about a group of three or more, use one another. "All the neighbours greeted one another at the Hari Raya celebration."
The action must go both ways: Reciprocal pronouns only work when the action is shared. "They looked at each other" means both people looked at the other person.
Do not confuse reciprocal and reflexive pronouns: "They hurt each other" means person A hurt person B and person B hurt person A. "They hurt themselves" means each person hurt himself or herself.
"Each other" and "one another" are always two words: Never write them as one word. "Eachother" and "oneanother" are wrong.

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
The three girls helped each other.	The three girls helped one another.	Use "one another" for three or more people
Ali and Ben congratulated one another.	Ali and Ben congratulated each other.	Use "each other" for exactly two people
They looked at eachother.	They looked at each other.	"Each other" is always two separate words
The two boys hurt themselves during the fight.	The two boys hurt each other during the fight.	If they hurt one another, use a reciprocal pronoun, not reflexive
My sister and I wrote to each other letters.	My sister and I wrote letters to each other.	The reciprocal pronoun comes after the preposition, not between the verb and the object

Clue Words

Words that signal a reciprocal action:

both, two, pair, together, the twins, Ali and Ben (two names joined by "and")

Words that signal "one another" instead of "each other":

all, the whole class, the group, the team, everyone, the five children, three or more names joined by "and"

Common verbs used with reciprocal pronouns:

helped, greeted, looked at, talked to, wrote to, smiled at, called, hugged, thanked, chased, shared with, waited for

Tip: Count the people! If there are exactly two, use each other. If there are three or more, use one another.

Practice Tips

Count the people first: Before choosing, find the subject of the sentence. Count how many people are involved. Two people means "each other". Three or more means "one another".
Check both ways: Ask yourself: "Is the action going in both directions?" If Ali helps Ben AND Ben helps Ali, then "each other" is correct. If only one person does the action, you do not need a reciprocal pronoun.
Reflexive or reciprocal?: If the action comes back to the same person (she taught herself), use a reflexive pronoun. If the action goes between two or more people (they taught each other), use a reciprocal pronoun.
Read aloud and picture it: Say the sentence aloud and imagine the scene. Can you see the action going back and forth between the people? Then a reciprocal pronoun fits.

Quick Reference

Reciprocal Pronoun	Number of People	Example
each other	Exactly two	The twins looked at each other and laughed.
one another	Three or more	The classmates wished one another happy new year.

What To Check	How To Decide
How many people?	Two --> each other. Three or more --> one another.
Does the action go both ways?	Yes --> reciprocal pronoun. No --> regular pronoun.
Same person or different?	Same person --> reflexive (themselves). Different people --> reciprocal (each other).

Reciprocal Pronouns (P3) (Primary 3)