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Is this correct?You guys are of different branches of the military. How do you know each other.Thanks

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

You guys are from different branches of the military. How do you know each other?

Nakool · Answer

You guys are from different branches of the military. How do you know one another ?

Mister Micawber · Answer

NakoolHow do you know one another ?

Why do you think it should be 'one another', Nakool?

Nakool · Answer

Hi Mister,

As per my understanding, we use 'each other' for two persons and 'one another' for more than two. Please let me know if I am not correct.

Mister Micawber · Answer

NakoolAs per my understanding, we use 'each other' for two persons and 'one another' for more than two.

That is the prescription, but it is seldom followed by native speakers, who tend to use them with an individual preference.

Usage Note (from the Am Heritage Dictionary):

It is often maintained that each other should be used to denote a reciprocal relation between two entities, with one another reserved for more than two: thus The twins dislike each other but The triplets dislike one another.Sixty-four percent of Usage Panelists say that they follow this rule in their own writing. But it should be pointed out that many reputable writers from Samuel Johnson onward have ignored the rule and that the use of each other for more than two, or of one another for two, cannot be considered incorrect. In particular, there are contexts in which each other and one another are subtly different in meaning. When speaking of an ordered series of events or stages, one another is the preferred form. Thus the sentenceThe waiters followed one another into the room was preferred by 73 percent of the Usage Panel to the sentence The waiters followed each other into the room.

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