Sometimes what looks acceptable really isn’t. Appearances can be deceiving, especially if you don’t understand important distinctions. When editing professional writing, understanding the distinction between written English and spoken English is essential for producing the best image from your writing.
When writers fail to distinguish between written and spoken English, their writing can appear acceptable when in reality the image conveyed is one of mediocrity. That’s because what may be acceptable when speaking may not be so when writing.
Take, for example, the first complete sentence in the graphic at left. Many inexperienced writers would not think anything inappropriate with it. And yet one another has a very specific meaning which makes its use here quite inappropriate.
One another references more than two people. Since the sentence clearly indicates that only two people are involved, one another is not appropriate. The appropriate expression is each other, which indicates two and only two people. Thus, the writer should rewrite the sentence to read thus:
When writers fail to distinguish between written and spoken English, their writing can appear acceptable when in reality the image conveyed is one of mediocrity. That’s because what may be acceptable when speaking may not be so when writing.
Take, for example, the first complete sentence in the graphic at left. Many inexperienced writers would not think anything inappropriate with it. And yet one another has a very specific meaning which makes its use here quite inappropriate.
One another references more than two people. Since the sentence clearly indicates that only two people are involved, one another is not appropriate. The appropriate expression is each other, which indicates two and only two people. Thus, the writer should rewrite the sentence to read thus:
The two engineers competed with each other.
To illustrate further the difference between these related expressions, here’s an example which uses one another correctly.
Because they all contribute to the online forum, these engineers help one another.
Note that both each other and one another reference people. Experienced writers never use either of these expressions to refer to things or ideas.
Here we see yet another illustration of how the little details make all the difference between more effective writing and less effective writing. Remember to use each other when only two people are referenced. Use one another with more than two people. Your writing will then better convey the professional image that successful businesses want associated with them and their brands.
Here we see yet another illustration of how the little details make all the difference between more effective writing and less effective writing. Remember to use each other when only two people are referenced. Use one another with more than two people. Your writing will then better convey the professional image that successful businesses want associated with them and their brands.
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