Features of the use of the pronouns another, other, others, the others. The difference between the words: other and another What does another mean?

What's the difference between the words other And another? They are similar not only in form, but also in meaning, because in some cases they can replace each other. Often native speakers use them with the same meanings, such as “other,” “rest,” or “additional.” Although the difference in meaning may seem insignificant, it is important to understand the difference from a grammatical point of view and choose the word that sounds more correct in a particular sentence. So, let's look at the cases of use in more detail.

Meanings of other

First let's get acquainted with the features other to know how and in what forms this word is used in speech:

• Other– this is a qualifying word, it can be used with uncountable nouns and with plural nouns: other information- other information, other magazines– other magazines.

  With singular nouns other should be used with another qualifying word ( the, my, your, our, any, three etc.): the other magazine– another magazine, some other hat- some other hat.

  As a qualifying word other does not have a plural form: others .

• Other can also be a pronoun, in which case it has a plural form – others. How can we understand whether a pronoun is in front of us or not? Very simple. After the pronoun other There cannot be other nouns, let’s compare two examples:
  

  other books – other books (other – clarifying word)
  these books and others- these books and other (others – pronoun)

other.

1. Other meaning “the second of a pair.”

   In this meaning other used when talking about the second object or person from a pair, while he has not yet been mentioned in the conversation. We use other only with countable nouns, since uncountable nouns cannot be a pair. For example:

   I can't find mine other earring. – I can’t find mine second earring

   One brother was at home while the other was outside. – One of the brothers was at home while second was on the street.

   When I'm nervous, I shift from one foot to the other. – When I'm nervous, I shift from one foot to the other. another.

   Each of us knows who the other one is. – Each of us knows who we are second.

2. Other meaning "the rest".

   Can be consumed other when we talk about all the people or things of a group that are separate from one of its members and are unknown or have not yet been mentioned. In this meaning we can use the other with plural nouns.

   The other cars are near the river. – Rest cars by the river.

   He is much happier than everyone the other men in his large family. - He is much happier than everyone else the rest men in his huge family.

   I've bought this dress because the other ones were too short. – I bought this dress because everything rest were too short.

3. Other meaning "additional" in the plural.

   In this meaning other appears in speech when talking about additional objects or people in a group.

   There are several other questions to discuss. - Eat more a few questions for discussion.

   I've got two other men I'd like to dine with. - I have more a couple of men I'd like to have lunch with.

   Have you got any other ideas? – More any ideas?

4. Other in the sense of “some other”.

   Used to refer to a person or thing that you have not yet mentioned or that you do not yet know.

   James was playing with two other kids. – James played with two others children.

   I want to change into some other clothes. - I want to change into another clothes.

   Let's discuss this some other time. - Let's discuss this in other time.

   There is no other dress I could afford. - No another dresses that I can afford.

5. Other meaning "opposite".

   Word other used in this meaning when talking about objects that are on the opposite side of you, far from you, or moving away. Other will be used with the definite article the.

   Park on the other side of the street. - Park on another side of the street.

   She lives at the other end of the street. - She lives on friend end of the street.

Useful phrases with the word other:

• no one other than myself- nobody except me;
• none other than somebody- none other than;
• the other way around- vice versa;
• the other day- the other day in the past;
• someone or other / somewhere or other– someone/somewhere;
• in other words- in other words;
• each other- each other;
• every other– every second, every other;
• on the one hand / on the other hand- on the one hand on the other hand.

Meanings of another

Now let's take a closer look at the features another:

• Another is a qualifying word that does not have a plural form. We only use it with singular nouns: another car (another cars) – another car, another cup of tea– another cup of tea ( another cups of tea).
• Another can also be a pronoun. In this case, after another there will be no noun.
  

  In summer I eat one ice-cream in the morning and another in the evening – In the summer I eat one ice cream in the morning and other In the evening.

Let's talk about the meaning of the word another.

1. Another in the meaning of “another”, “additional” in the singular.

   In this meaning the word another used when talking about another person or thing, when the first ones are mentioned in context.

   I want to have another break. - I want to take Another one break.

   Another bus will come in 10 minutes. – Next (Another one) the bus will arrive in 10 minutes.

   Buy a dress and get another free. – Buy a dress and receive Another For a present.

   To highlight one item from a group and emphasize a large number of them, you can use the phrase another of, which can be translated as “another”, “next”. A similar meaning can also be seen in the phrase another two/ten etc., which can be translated as “still”: another 2 weeks- two more weeks.

2. Another meaning "other".

   Another can be translated as “different”, “not that thing, but another.” The context implies a comparison in favor of the second option.

   They must have visited another restaurant - They must have been in friend restaurant.

   Let's move to another apartment - Let's move to another apartment.

   Come back another time. - Come to other time.

3. Another meaning "similar".

   If you are talking about some famous person, thing or event, another used to emphasize that there will never be another like him, or to compare someone with a famous person.

   There"ll never be another Marilyn Monroe. - Will not another one like this Marilyn Monroe.

Useful collocations with the word another:

• one another- each other;
• one ... or another- one or the other;
• for one reason or another- anyway;
• one after another– one after another (events, for example);
• and another thing(colloquial expression) – and more;
• Not another...! – Not another one...!

Now you know the difference between the meanings of words other And another! Practice on your own, coming up with examples for each meaning and useful phrase :-)

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Every half-decent English textbook pays a lot of attention to the issue that concerns pronouns another, other(s) And the other(s).

But, nevertheless, very often this topic still remains a question mark, even for those who consider themselves proficient speakers. These words sound similar, are written similarly, and are translated into Russian in the same way - different. How can you not get confused here?

Students of EnglishDom - online English language schools via Skype know that you can figure it out if you remember the rules well.

Other - others

For example, you could say in a cafe:

• Can I have another coffee? — Can I have another coffee?
• She asked me question, then another. “She asked me a question, then another one.

As can be seen from the examples, very often after another pronoun used one.

It serves as a substitute for a noun that was used earlier to avoid repetition.

But remember that it makes sense to use one only if it is clear from the context what exactly is being said.

For example:

I have already read this book. Give me another one, please. (one = book) - I have already read this book. Please give me another one (the next one, another one).

In this case, after another followed by a number and then a plural noun. For example:

We need another three months to finish the project. - We need three more months to complete the project.

The other

Pronoun the other contains the characteristics of both previous pronouns, since it can be used with both plural and singular nouns.

We translate it into Russian as not this, other or remaining. There are several cases when it is advisable to use the other.

Firstly, the other used with singular nouns in the meaning of another, second, if we are talking about two persons or objects, and also if the object consists of two parts.

For example:

• He is waiting for us on the other side of the street. — He's waiting for us on the other side of the street.
• This shoe is very dirty but the other one is quite clean. — This shoe is dirty, but the other one is clean.

Secondly, we use it with plural nouns in the meaning others, others, if it is clear from the context or situation what specific people or objects we are talking about.

For example:

Where are the other books that I gave you? - Where are the other (other) books that I gave you?

And something else

Pronouns other, others, the others used with plural nouns.

It is important to remember that pronouns other And others used with nouns that express an indefinite number of persons or objects.

For example:

• We are thinking about the crises, but they have other problems. “We are thinking about the crisis, but they have other problems.”
• Some people like pizza, others don't. — Some people like pizza, others don't.
• There are only five sweets in the bag. Where are the others? — There are only five sweets in the bag. Where are the others?

Now you know in which communication situations it is most appropriate to use other(s), and in which another or the other(s).

Although they sound similar, they are like twins - although their appearance is completely identical, each has its own character.

Remember some of the examples given, and in the right situation, the context in which you can use this or that word will always pop up in your memory.

List of useful words

other - different, others (before plural nouns)
others - various others (does not require a noun after itself)
another - different (always singular)
the other - not this one, the other one, the remaining one (both plural and singular)

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

The use of the word “other” (another/ other/ the other/ others/ the others) causes a lot of difficulties for all English language learners. Let's try to understand its use so that we can stop making mistakes in this rule once and for all.

Another and other are used when we are not talking about any specific, specific subject. The other is used when we talk about a specific subject. If it is clear from the conversation what object is meant, then the noun can be omitted and another can be used for a non-specific object and the other for a specific object.

I don't want this book. Please give me another. (another = any other book – not any specific book, any other)

I don't want this book. Please give me the other. (the other = the other book – a specific book)

If a plural countable noun is omitted, other takes the form others. The word other can NEVER be plural when used with a noun.

This picture is beautiful. Others are beautiful too. (others = other pictures – not specific pictures)

I don't want these books. Please give me the others. (the others = the other books - specific books)

You can also use the word “one/ones” instead of a noun:

I don't want this book. Please give me another one.

I don't want this book. Please give me the other one.

This picture is beautiful. Other ones are beautiful too.

I don't want these books. Please give me the other ones.

So we have looked at the rules for using the words “another/other/the other/others/the others”. We hope that you will not have any difficulties using them in the future.

The word “other” can be translated into English in two ways – as “other” and as “another”, so students often have a question about in what cases to use one or another option.

For convenience, I propose to consider the singular and plural separately.

Singular

Other (in the sense of “another, additional, not like that”) = another. Moreover, it is understood that there can be many options, namely, more than two. Another can come before a noun, before the pronoun one, or be used on its own.

Examples:

Eat another (one more) way to do it. – There is another way to do it.

Want more Cup of coffee? – Do you want another cup of coffee? Do you want another one? Do you want another?

Can I have another piece? – Can I have another slice, please?

Give me another chance. – Give me another chance.

Can I take another chair? — Can I have another chair?

Other (in the sense of “second, last of two”) = theother. When the choice comes from only two objects, it is clear that the other object is the second of the two, the last. This option is used when it is clear that there are only two objects. It can also stand before a noun, the pronoun one, or be used on its own.

Examples:

Shop at another side of the street. — The supermarket is on the other side of the street. (The street has only two sides).

And where other glove? – Where is theother glove? (There are always two gloves too).

In fact, the Russian language is more flexible in this regard - we can say “where is the other glove?”, but in English it will still be “the other”, because two gloves. Therefore, as soon as you understand that in a given situation there can only be two objects, put “the other”.

One more observation will help you remember this rule: the word “another” came from adding the indefinite article “an” to the word “other”. Those. in the first case, the indefinite article indicates the choice of any object from a set of similar ones (another any, some), and in the second case, the definite article the indicates that a specific, second object is selected.

Plural

Others (in the sense of “the rest, not the last”) - other others(if used independently). The implication is that "others" are selected from an indefinite number of objects, not a finite one.

Take it other books. – Take other books.

Take it other. – Take others.

I want to see other countries. – I want to see other countries.

Some people like to relax in their free time. Other- travel. — Some people like to rest in their free time. Others like to travel. (Here these “others” are clearly not the last, since the reasoning is purely speculative).

Others (in the sense of “remaining, remaining, last”) – theother(before nouns and ones) or theothers(if used independently). In this case, it is clear from the context that these others are the remaining part of some set.

Where are the others ( other, remaining) boys? —Where are the other boys?

There were three books on the table. One is here. Where other(rest)? — There were three books on my table. One is here. Where are theothers?

To understand the difference between these two cases more clearly, let's compare the sentences:

I don’t have these books, take other books (others). – I don’t have these books, take others (it doesn’t matter how many books I have in total, and these others are clearly not the last in my collection).

I have three books, I’m reading one now, so you can take the other books (the others). — I have three books, I’m reading one, so you can take the rest (and these others are the last two of the three, i.e. the number of books is finite).

By analogy with the singular number, in the first case we are simply talking about some other objects (for example, countries), nothing specific, so there is no article. In the second case, we mean a specific number of remaining objects (boys - it is assumed that there were so many, so many remained), so the definite article “the” appears.

Let's summarize all the values ​​in one table:

And finally, one exception: if NUMERAL or the word FEW is used, then the plural is used another:

We drove another FIVE miles.

The pronouns another, other, others in English have the same translation. Moreover, each of them has a different meaning in a sentence. In order to know in what situations one word or another should be used, it is necessary to understand their difference and role in a sentence.

This pronoun in translation means “another” or “another” and is used only for the singular. "Another" is used in a sentence to express two shades:

1. Another, one more (by quantity).
2. Different, different (in quality).

In some situations, "Another" can be placed before , but only if there is a after it.

Examples

I've eaten that cake. I want to take another one. – I ate that cake and want to take another one.

This fruit is spoiled. Please give me another one. - This fruit is spoiled. Give me another one please.

Alan will stay in London for another two days. -Alan will stay in London for another 2 days.

Other

It can be used for the singular, but most often it should be used for the plural. The pronoun “Other” can act as an adjective and a noun.

"The other" used in a sentence if it is necessary to highlight one item from two possible ones, and when translated it will mean “second”. The pronoun s can be used in the singular if we are specifying one object out of two, and in the plural when we understand exactly what specific objects we are talking about.

Examples

I think John has some other intentions. “It seems to me that John has other intentions.” (as an adjective)

I love this song more than any other. – I love this song more than any other. (as a noun)

Where is the other part of the game? – Where is the second part of the game? (one part of two)

Others

The pronoun “Others” is used only as a noun itself. It is used if it is necessary to designate objects belonging to a certain group.

"The others" is used if the designated group of objects is understandable and known to both interlocutors.

Examples

Some people are more good-hearted than others. - Some people are kinder than others.

– Are these your clothes? - Are these your things?

– This blouse is mine and the others are my friend’s. -This blouse is mine, and the others are my friend’s. (rest)

Video lesson: OTHER, ANOTHER, OTHERS, THE OTHER, OTHERWISE