Since spelling and grammar are not my strengths I am always grateful to learn tricks from those who are more skilled in this area. One thing I recently learned was during a critique session of my Book: Operation Middle School Madness.
What is the difference between one another and each other? Each other is used when there are only two people. One another are used when there are more than two people. For example:
One another:
They were positioned high up in a dense concentration of trees of a very thick rain forest. They were silently zip-lining through the branches. Below a troop of enemy soldiers were canvasing the ground of the lower forest. They were talking to one another as they searched the terrain.
Each Other:
Thomas stopped. “For real?” He led them on. “That would be cool.” He sighed. “It would be cool for you and me to be unit members.” To cover each other’s backs, he thought. One of the most exciting things in a game or movie was to see a group of men, like a trained Green Beret or Delta team, sneaking through the defenses of a military post. It was one of the reasons he had wanted to read Doe’s Journal book so much.
Now that I’ve learned this, I need to think of a way to help me remember it. I guess it should be obvious to some. But to many of us, it isn’t. One way to help me remember is that the word EACH signifies a single person and thus Each (one person) and Each (one person) is two people; thus I know to use Each other because there’s just one and one.
Alaskan: How in the world can I remember to spell the work Alaskan correctly and consistently? A mnemonic device is a process where people come up with a silly phrase to remember something. One famous example of this is In 1472 Columbus sailed the midnight blue.
One way I hope will help is to come up with a mnemonic that might help me remember. I’ve come up with this phrase.
All I ask for is a nice warm coat.
Al (all I) ask (ask for is) A N (ice warm coat)
All I ask for is a nice warm coat.
Useful Web sites: in my search to improve my own craft here are some nice web sites that may be of assistance to you. I need to remind myself to go to additional sources other than word for my spelling and grammar.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
http://englishplus.com/grammar/
http://www.spellchecker.net/grammar/
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm
