Each Others vs Each Others Which Is Correct

Each Others vs Each Others Which Is Correct Due to the fact these two-word combinations sound exactly the same with only the placement of the apostrophe being different, many people arent sure which of them is correct. The aim of this article is to de-fog the fogginess surrounding these two (weve already done so with was vs were, further away vs farther away, and onto vs on to). One of these forms is correct, and the other is just plain wrong. Would anyone care to lay bets before we continue by explaining which is which? Each Refers to How Many? To get the answer were looking for, we should begin by looking at the word each. It automatically implies that we are talking about one of the following: a single object or person, a group of things, or people that can be regarded as a unit. To put this more clearly, you wouldnt use a pluralized word after each. You may say each animal has unique markings, but you would never say each animals have unique markings. If you were to modify the sentence to Each of the animals has unique markings, were once again looking at a single animal at a time. You could talk about each people, but then you would be talking about individual races, which turns the word people into a singular that could be pluralized as peoples. For example: Each people has its own culture, means that the French culture differs from the German culture, and so on. It would be a slightly odd way of expressing the idea, but it wouldnt be wrong because in the example people is singular. The bottom line with all of this? As soon as you see the word each, the word following it needs to be in its singular form. Other Refers to How Many? Because we have prefixed other with each it has to remain in the singular form. While there is a plural form for other which is others, it differs from the example of people since it has no alternative meaning and cannot be pluralized yet again. Returning to that example, we could say that people means a whole lot of persons, or we could use it to indicate race: The Turks are a people who love their coffee. The Turks and the Greeks are two peoples who have often been at war. There is no such alternative meaning for others. Its the plural form of other and thats all there is to it. Sticking to the Rule The rule is that each will always be followed by a singular. John and Mary promised to love each other forever. They agreed to take care of each others wellbeing above all else. The apostrophe is used to indicate possession, and it comes before the s, not after it. If we dont prefix other with each, we can use it in the plural form. You need to learn to respect others views, but as soon as the magic each enters the equation, You need to learn to respect each others views, is the correct form. Dont be confused by the word we, even though it does indicate more than one person: We need to learn to respect each others views is correct as long as we use the singular forms of other after the word each. Another Example Here are two more permutations: We need to respect one anothers views, and We need to respect others views. One another is really just another way of saying Each other. But if we leave out the word that indicates a singular (one or each), we can use the apostrophe after the s because we are now talking about multiple others simultaneously. No Need for Confusion Just remember the simple rule about the word following each and youll never get each others wrong again. Now, to the important business at hand. Who lost the bet I invited you to make at the beginning of this piece? I accept PayPal, wire transfers, and indentured servitude as methods of payment