What are reciprocal pronouns?

They are each other and one another. You use them when two or more people do the same action and the action passes between them: The two authors cite each other. The subject has to be plural, and the pronoun fills an object slot, including after a preposition.

What is the difference between each other and themselves?

Each other is reciprocal: the action crosses from one person to another (They texted each other). Themselves is reflexive: each person acts on their own self, or the group acts on the group as a unit (They texted themselves a reminder). If you can draw arrows between people, pick the reciprocal.

How do I make each other possessive?

Add 's to other: each other's. The same applies to one another: one another's. Then write the noun: They signed each other's cards. With a countable thing that each person has one of, the noun is usually plural: each other's bags.

Can I use each other after we met?

Yes, but you do not have to. Meet, marry, and a few other verbs already imply two parties, so We met at university is complete. We met each other at university is also complete and makes the two-way meaning explicit. Both are standard.

English grammar · Beginner

Reciprocal Pronouns: Each Other vs. One Another

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another. You use them when two or more people do the same action and the action passes between them: they write to each other, the teams compete against one another. They are not reflexives. Themselves would mean each person acted on their own self; each other means the action crossed the group. In modern English each other and one another are almost interchangeable, with one another a shade more formal and slightly more at home with larger groups.

The two neighbours help each other with shopping.

the help goes both ways, so each other, not themselves

What it is

When an action is mutual, English does not repeat the object as a list of names. It uses a reciprocal pronoun. In Kim phoned Alex and Alex phoned Kim, the compact version is Kim and Alex phoned each other. The pronoun stands for that two-way (or many-way) exchange. There are only two forms, each other and one another, and they do not change for gender or for the number of people beyond the fact that the subject must be plural. The whole point of the category is the direction of the action: across the group, not back onto the same person.

The cousins send each other photos every week. (A sends to B, B sends to A.) The cousins send themselves photos every week would mean each cousin sends a photo to that same cousin, which is a different scene.

How to spot it

Check that the subject is two or more people or things, and that the verb describes something they do to, for, or with the rest of the group. If you can rewrite the sentence as A does it to B and B does it to A, you need each other or one another. If each person does it to their own self, you need a reflexive.

They waved at each other across the platform. (the waving crossed from one to the other)
The three flatmates cook for one another on weeknights. (one another with a group of three)
We kept interrupting each other, so the meeting ran long. (a mutual, slightly messy action)
The dogs ignored each other at first. (animals take the same pronouns)

A singular subject cannot take a reciprocal: She phoned each other is impossible. You need two parties in the subject, or a plural noun that already contains them (the pair, the team, they).

Reciprocal Pronouns Quick Reference

Each other and one another at a glance

Form	Typical use	Example
each other	the default reciprocal, any plural subject	The two sisters text each other constantly.
one another	slightly more formal; often with larger groups	The delegates introduced one another before the vote.
each other's / one another's	possessive: something belonging mutually	They borrowed each other's notes.
after a preposition	the pronoun follows the preposition, like any object	They sat next to each other. We disagree with one another.
not a reflexive	the action crosses, it does not loop	They blamed each other, not themselves.
plural subject required	at least two people or things	The pair trusted each other. He trusted her (no reciprocal).

Common Reciprocal Pronouns Examples in English

Grouped by the job the reciprocal is doing, which is always a two-way or many-way exchange:

Mutual Actions

The dancers watched each other for the next cue.: each watched the other dancer
Sam and Priya email each other every morning.: two people, default each other
The rival clubs have respected one another for decades.: one another with institutions
We kept bumping into each other in the same café.: a repeated mutual event

If the verb already names a two-person activity, English sometimes drops the pronoun: They met at school, They married in June. Adding each other is still correct and can add a slight emphasis.

After Prepositions

The two cottages stand opposite each other.: opposite plus each other
They have always been kind to one another.: to plus one another
The children hid behind each other during the drill.: behind plus each other
We learned a lot from each other on that project.: from plus each other

The preposition is chosen by the verb or the spatial meaning, exactly as it would be with a name. The reciprocal just fills the object slot.

Possessive Reciprocals

The twins wear each other's jackets without asking.: each other's plus a plural noun
We finished one another's sentences.: one another's plus a plural noun
The pair corrected each other's drafts overnight.: mutual possession of the drafts
They already knew each other's families.: families belonging to each member of the pair

The apostrophe sits on other / another, and the following noun is usually plural, because each person has one: each other's phones, not each other's phone, unless a single shared object is meant.

Choosing Reciprocal over Reflexive

The partners blamed each other for the delay.: each pointed at the other
The partners blamed themselves for the delay.: the group pointed at the group as a whole
The choir congratulated one another after the encore.: praise passed around the group
The choir congratulated itself on a clean performance.: the choir as one body, so a reflexive

Both versions can be grammatical. They describe different directions, and the reciprocal page exists so you can pick the direction you mean.

How Reciprocal Pronouns Work

Two forms, one job, and a possessive built with an apostrophe.

The Subject Must Be Plural

A reciprocal needs at least two participants in the subject, because the action has to have somewhere to cross to. They, we, you (plural), the pair, the team, Sam and Alex all work. A singular subject takes an ordinary object: She phoned him, not She phoned each other. Coordinated singulars count as plural: Kim and Alex phoned each other.

My brother and I still tease each other. The committee members contradicted one another.

two coordinated people, then a plural group

No singular subject with each other.

Each Other and One Another Are Nearly the Same

Older style guides gave each other to two people and one another to more than two. Living English does not keep that split. Each other is the default at every group size; one another is a little more formal and is slightly more common with larger or more abstract groups (nations, teams, ideas). You will never be wrong if you use each other, and you will rarely be wrong if you use one another.

The two friends trust each other. The four friends trust one another.

both pronouns are acceptable in both sentences

Each other is the safe default.

Direction, Not Grammar, Separates Reciprocals from Reflexives

The forms look similar because both can follow a plural subject and both can follow a preposition. The test is the arrow. If every person acts on their own self, use ourselves, yourselves, themselves. If the action passes from one member of the group to another, use each other or one another. They dried themselves after the swim vs. They splashed each other in the pool.

The students compared each other's answers. The students compared themselves to last year's cohort.

each other: within the group. themselves: the group against something outside

Crossing arrows: reciprocal. Looping arrows: reflexive.

The Possessive Takes an Apostrophe

Each other's and one another's behave like any other possessive. They sit in the determiner slot in front of a noun: each other's phone numbers, one another's names. There is no each others without the apostrophe in standard English, and there is no each other phone numbers with a missing possessive.

They stayed in each other's spare rooms on the tour.

each other's plus a noun

Each other's + noun, apostrophe before s.

Common Mistakes with Reciprocal Pronouns

Incorrect: She and her colleague email themselves every morning with the figures.

Correct: She and her colleague email each other every morning with the figures.

Email themselves would mean each person sends a message to their own inbox. The figures are going across the pair, so the reciprocal is the pronoun that matches the scene.

Incorrect: He looked at each other and started laughing.

Correct: They looked at each other and started laughing.

Each other needs a plural subject. A singular he has no second party inside the subject for the action to cross to. Either make the subject they, or name the other person: He looked at her.

Incorrect: The two firms stole each others clients.

Correct: The two firms stole each other's clients.

The possessive is each other's, with the apostrophe before s. Each others is not a standard form, and without the apostrophe the noun clients is left without a determiner.

Incorrect: We enjoyed the trip each other.

Correct: We enjoyed the trip together. / We enjoyed each other's company on the trip.

Each other is an object pronoun, not an adverb of manner. It cannot trail a clause the way together can. Put it in an object slot, or switch to together.

Each Other's and Verbs that Imply a Pair

A possessive form, and a small set of verbs that do not always need the pronoun written out.

The apostrophe and the following noun

Write each other's and one another's, then a noun. The noun is plural when each person has one of the thing (each other's umbrellas) and singular when the thing is shared or abstract (each other's company).

They mixed up each other's coats at the interval.: plural coats: one per person
They enjoy one another's company.: company as a mass noun
We had already seen each other's work.: work as a mass noun

Each others with no apostrophe is a spelling error, not a plural form.

Verbs that already mean a pair

Meet, marry, similar, different, and a few others already encode a two-way relation, so each other is optional and sometimes heavy. They met at university is complete. They met each other at university is also complete and slightly more explicit.

The two families have known one another since the 1990s.: known plus one another, fully explicit
They married in Lisbon.: marry already implies a pair, so no pronoun is needed
The two accounts of the evening differ from each other in the details.: differ from plus each other

After similar and different, from / to plus each other is common but can often be dropped: The two plans are similar.

Quick Check: Reciprocal Pronouns

Fill each gap with each other, one another, a reflexive, or a possessive reciprocal.

1. The two cyclists overtook ___ on the last climb.

Answer: each other / one another

the overtaking passed between them

2. Lina stared at ___ in the shop window and adjusted her scarf.

Answer: herself

one person, so a reflexive

3. The four cousins still send ___ birthday parcels.

Answer: one another / each other

a group of four, either reciprocal is fine

4. They borrowed ___ chargers because nobody had packed a spare.

Answer: each other's / one another's

possessive before a plural noun

5. The pair sat next to ___ on the bench.