The couple seemed to love <u>one another</u> very much.
- (a)every other
- (b)each
- (c)each other
- (d)NO IMPROVEMENT
Correct — C, each other. A couple is two people, and the traditional rule this paper applies reserves 'each other' for two and 'one another' for more than two — so 'The couple seemed to love each other very much.'
- (a)every other — 'Every other' means every alternate one, as in 'every other Sunday'; it is not a word for a two-way relation at all.
- (b)each — 'Each' picks out the members of a group one by one and carries no sense of an exchange, so 'love each' leaves the sentence without an object that points back.
- (d)NO IMPROVEMENT — 'One another' is the form the rule keeps for groups larger than two, and a couple is exactly two.
The two reciprocal pronouns of English, and the number rule that examinations attach to them.
It is worth being straight about this one. Careful modern usage guides record that 'each other' and 'one another' have been used interchangeably by good writers for centuries, and many now treat the distinction as optional. Indian competitive papers, however, still test the older rule, and the official key marks 'each other' here on the strength of the word 'couple'. A candidate should answer by the rule the paper is applying while knowing that ordinary usage is looser.
- A reciprocal pronoun shows an exchange running both ways between the members of a group.
- The possessive forms are written 'each other's' and 'one another's', with the apostrophe before the s.
- Missing the word in the sentence that tells you how many people are involved.
- Confusing 'every other', meaning alternate, with a reciprocal pronoun.
Asked as a sentence-improvement item where a single noun in the stem decides which of the two reciprocal pronouns the key will accept.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which option best improves the underlined part — The five team members supported <u>each other</u> throughout the tournament.
- (a)one another
- (b)every other
- (c)each
- (d)No improvement
Answer(a) one another — by the traditional rule a group of more than two takes 'one another'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which option best improves the underlined part — The two brothers rarely spoke to <u>one other</u> after the quarrel.
- (a)each other
- (b)each
- (c)every other
- (d)No improvement
Answer(a) each other — 'one other' is not a reciprocal pronoun, and two people take 'each other'.