Other, others, the other or another?
OTHER
Other means ‘additional or extra’, or ‘alternative’, or ‘different types of’.
Other as a determiner
We can use other with singular uncountable nouns and with plural nouns:
-The embassy website has general information about visas.
-Other travel information can be obtained by calling the freephone number. (additional or extra information)
-Some music calms people; other music has the opposite effect. (different types of music)
-What other books by Charles Dickens have you read, apart from ‘Oliver Twist’? (additional or extra books)
-This one’s too big. Do you have it in other sizes? (alternative sizes)
If we use other before a singular countable noun, we must use another determiner before it:
-I don’t like the red one. I prefer the other colour.
Not: I prefer other colour.
-Jeremy is at university; our other son is still at school.
He got 100% in the final examination. No other student has ever achieved that.
There’s one other thing we need to discuss before we finish.
Other as a determiner does not have a plural form:
-Mandy and Charlotte stayed behind. The other girls went home.
Not: The others girls …
Other as a pronoun
We can use other as a pronoun. As a pronoun, other has a plural form, others:
-We have to solve this problem, more than any other, today.
-I’ll attach two photos to this email and I’ll send others tomorrow.
THE OTHER
The other as a determiner
The other with a singular noun means the second of two things or people, or the opposite of a set of two:
-This computer here is new. The other computer is about five years old.
-A:Do you know the Indian restaurant in Palmer Street?
B:Yes.
A:Well, the gift shop is on the other side of the street, directly opposite. (the opposite side)
The other with a plural noun means the remaining people or things in a group or set:
-Joel and Karen are here, but where are the other kids? (the remaining people in a group)
-Where are the other two dinner plates? I can only find four. (the remaining things in a set – here six plates)
The other as a pronoun
We can use the other as a pronoun, especially to refer back to something which has been mentioned already in the sentence:
-He had his hat in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other.
-She has two kittens, one is black and the other is all white.
ANOTHER
When we use the indefinite article an before other, we write it as one word: another. Another means ‘one more’ or ‘an additional or extra’, or ‘an alternative or different’.
Another as a determiner
We use another with singular nouns:
-Would you like another cup of coffee?
-You’ve met Linda, but I have another sister who you haven’t met, called Margaret.
-I don’t like this place. Is there another café around here we could go to? (alternative or different)
Another as a pronoun
We can use another as a pronoun:
The applications are examined by one committee, then passed on to another.
Other, others, the other or another: typical errors.
*When other is a determiner, it does not have a plural form:
These boxes are for books. The other boxes are for clothes.Not: The others boxes …
*When other as a pronoun refers to more than one person or thing, it takes the plural form, others:
-Some scientists think we should reduce the number of flights to prevent global warming; others disagree. (not: … other disagree.)
*Other must have a determiner before it when it comes in front of a singular countable noun. If the noun is indefinite (e.g. a book, a woman, an idea), we use another:
-I’ve posted the first package. What shall I do with that other package? (not: What shall I do with other package?)
-After a month in Bolivia, I was ready to move to another country. (not: … to move to other country)
*We write another as one word:
There is another car park a little further down the same street. (not: There is an other car park …)
*Another is singular. We don’t use it with plural nouns:
-Other interesting places to visit include the old harbour and the castle. (not: Another interesting places to visit …)
