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English Grammar: Other vs. Another Difference

Other & Another: the Difference in English Grammar
Let's review the grammar rules for another, other, and the other:
another + singular nonspecific countable noun

Examples:
"Let's meet another day."
"I'd like another piece of cake."
The nouns ("day" and "piece") in both sentences are countable and singular (e.g. not with an 's') nouns.
The nouns in both sentences are also not specific. This means that the speaker doesn't care which day or piece of cake he gets; he just wants a
different one. He wants another one, but he hasn't said (or it isn't clear or important) which one.
Hint: If you understand English articles ("a/an/the"), then think of "another" as "an + other." You can use "another" before a noun whenever you can
use "a(n)" before a noun. The rules are the same. Another = an other!
other + plural or uncountable nonspecific noun

Examples:
"Other people have problems, too." [people = plural noun]
"This book has other information." [information = uncountable noun]
The nouns in both sentences are not specific, just like with "another". The speaker doesn't specify which other people have problems, or what other
information the book has. The rules are the same as "another" except that "other" is used before plural or uncountable nouns.
Hint: If we think about articles (a/an/the) again, then remember that we use "other" before a noun that would NOT need an article.
the other + specific noun (singular, plural, countable or uncountable)

Examples:
1. "I have two brothers. One of them lives in Canada. The other brother lives in Japan."
2. "I go to school on Monday and Thursday. I work on the other days of the week."
The nouns ("brother" & "days") in both sentences are specific.
Re: Example #1: What brother lives in Japan? The other brother. The speaker said he has two brothers. He told you where the first brother lives, so the
other brother must be his second brother. This is a specific brother (not general). You know what brother he is talking about.
Re: Example #2: What days of the week does he work on? Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The speaker said he goes to school on Monday and
Thursday. You know that the other days of the week are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. So the speaker says "the other" because it is clear what
other days of the week he works on. Specifically, they are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Hint: Thinking about articles again, the rules for "the other" are the same as the rules for "the" + noun.
Do you think you understand?

Let's see! Take the test:
Three of my friends live in Boston. One is a doctor, one is a dentist, and another
Craig needs a job. He also has another
Another
doesn't have a job. The friend without a job's name is Craig.
problem: he needs a new girlfriend. His last girlfriend left him because she met another
man was rich and handsome. I told Craig not to worry about it; there are many another
man.
girls in the world.
Answers
I hope this was helpful. As we have seen, you need to understand how to use English articles (a/an/the) to use "another/the other/other" correctly.
Articles are not easy. Keep studying, practicing, and don't give up!
Related: Help Understanding Articles (Beginner)
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- Matthew Barton of Englishcurrent.com

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42 Comments on this News Lesson

1. Pawel
(Posted January 15, 2013 at 10:59 | Permalink | Reply)
In the test, a new a girlfriend probably should read as a new girlfriend.
mb
(Posted January 15, 2013 at 20:23 | Permalink | Reply)
Thanks Pawel! I fixed it.
2. Wayne
(Posted February 6, 2013 at 15:18 | Permalink | Reply)
I understand and agree with your explanation for another with singular. But it is also correct to say (e.g.) There are 5 horses in this stable and
another 3 [horses] in that stable. So here, another is used with a plural noun. True? I suppose you could split hairs and say it is really another
GROUP OF 3 [horses] to make it singular. Your thoughts?
mb
Wayne: Good thought. I had never thought about that. With another 3 horses, Id agree that were talking individual 3-horse groups though,
separately. Grammatically the noun horses is plural but perhaps three can be also thought of as a noun, e.g. in the sentence and then
another three arrived. Here three is a singular noun. Im not a grammarian, but it is interesting though. Thanks for the comment!
MB
uca
(Posted December 24, 2013 at 17:00 | Permalink | Reply)
in another three horses, another means more three more horses. We especially use another in this way when we talk about distance
and time. For example: I need another ten minutes or well walk another two kilometres.
3. Divine
(Posted April 21, 2013 at 18:12 | Permalink | Reply)
I find this site very useful to me since i am just starting to learn to set a grammar and study the english word.
4. albino, Angola
Outstanding
5. farzane
(Posted June 29, 2013 at 14:56 | Permalink | Reply)
it was really helpful. thanks for your perfect explanation
6. lucky girl
(Posted August 15, 2013 at 21:31 | Permalink | Reply)
thank you very much, it helped me a lot.
7. imam
(Posted September 5, 2013 at 07:22 | Permalink | Reply)
Good Very good but you have to increase that again and again just it for you thanks !!
8. Anonymous
good. Thanks
9. loc
clear. thanks!
10. Adriaan
(Posted October 11, 2013 at 00:10 | Permalink | Reply)
What if youre trying to say a different in stead of an additional?
For example: He lives in an other street. Is an other here correct, or it it still another?
Adriaan
Or should I not have used in stead, another spelling of the word instead? :)
mb
There is no an other in my opinion. Theres a thread on it here: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1690 , but after
reading it, I still hold the same opinion.

In stead should also be together in modern English. There is an expression in sbs stead. But that requires a determiner (in HIS
stead, in HER stead). You dont see it written without one (nowadays at least).
11. naresh verma
(Posted November 14, 2013 at 10:26 | Permalink | Reply)
add new example
12. Paulini
(Posted November 16, 2013 at 06:50 | Permalink | Reply)
Thanks,it is useful for me.
13. Diaa meher
in this topic is complete plz I request u mention the proper definition andexample of other ,anotherp
14. Ral from Sap
According to Cambridge Dictionary we have to always use another before numbers, like Wayne said in the comment number 2: There are 5
horses in this stable and another 3 [horses] in that stable. But, if we said for example,I want to buy the other three horses(I know the horses Im
talking about)Cambridge Dictionary is not accurate, I think.
I have another doubt. What happened in this case?
Imagine that I am in a snack bar with a friend and I have already eaten a sandwich. If I said to my friend I want another sandwich, it would be
correct because here, sandwich is a non-specific name and its singular and countable and there are no determiners.
But if I said I want another blue cheese sandwich with mayonnaise, would it be correct like that? I have the doubt because this sandwich,is in a
way, an specific sandwich. Its true that there may be over one blue cheese sandwich with mayonnaise in the snack bar. If there was only one blue
cheese sandwich with mayonnaise we may say I want the other blue cheese sandwich with mayonnaise
I dont know if you understand my question, my english is not completely correct and I dont know if I explained well. Thanks a lot four your lesson
and for your time.
Ral from Spain
I have seen two mistakes in my last comment. It would be What would happen in this case? instead of What happened in this case? and
my name is Ral from Spain, not Ral from Sap. Im sorry. Thanks
Ral from Spain
Explanation: When I said in my main post, between brackets, I know the horses Im talking about, I mean that this fact it is a true
premise for me, although it was on only a supposition. Thanks
mb
Hi Ral. Thanks for the comment. In my post, I have used the words specific and non-specific a lot. These terms may be a little problematic.
For example, if you tell your friend, I have another job now., you are talking about a specific job (the one you have now). Its not general. A
trainer of mine preferred the terms particular or definite (although that doesnt solve the problem really).
Regarding your sentence, I want another blue cheese sandwich with mayonnaise, it does sound like we are talking about something fairly
specific here too, so again the word specific doesnt seem like the right word. But, with that said, you arent saying specifically (or
particularly) which other sandwich you want (there may be 3 blue cheese ones left), so its lacking some specificity. You could certainly be
more specific, e.g. I want The blue cheese sandwich with mayonnaise that is beside the coke bottle.
It sounds like you understand determiners quite well. Thanks for the comment.
Ral from Spain
Thanks again. I understand you perfectly. Id like your opinion about the use of another before numbers. I am still thinking it depends
of the context.
15. Nadya
Thank You soooo much for your help! This is the best explanation ever!!!!
16. anand
(Posted May 11, 2014 at 18:34 | Permalink | Reply)
what about others
This bike might be slow but others are much faster,
here I can't use other explain ?
mb
Your example is good. Others = other bikes. 'Others' here functions as a pronoun, replacing the original noun (bikes). The noun it is
replacing (bikes) is plural, so you should use 'others' (with an S).
17. Rotua Meyly

Alright, actually I would like to ask a doubt in my mind when I was studying in the class. We were studying about Forms of Other, and one of the
questions at that time was "I got three letters. One was from my father. one was from my sister. letter was from my girlfriend." My
opinion at that time was "I got three letters. One was from my father. The other one was from my sister. The other letter was from my girlfriend."
But, the conclusion for the right answer that we agree at that time was "I got three letters. One was from my father. Another one was from my
sister. The other letter was from my girlfriend." what do you think about this. Hasn't the letter been specify in this case? That's three letter? then
why we use another there? Thank you. I'm waiting for your explanation.
mb
"I got three letters. One was from my father. Another one was from my sister. The other letter was from my girlfriend." < this is correct.
You cannot use 'The other was from my sister' because it wouldn't be clear to the listener which letter you refer to. You know one was from
your father. Now, two letters remain. You cannot use "the" (the definite article) to refer to the next letter because it could mean either of the
two. You can only use 'the other' to refer to the last letter AFTER mentioning the first two because it is the only one that remains; it must be
the one you are talking about. Does that help?
Rotua Meyly
Yeah.. I got it now.. Thanks mb..
18. Andres
My question is in this case:
The selected registry was deleted in another session / or / The selected registry was deleted in other session, Help me please!
mb
another. 'Session' is a countable noun, so you cannot say 'in other session.'
19. Rod
Thank you so much for this article. It really helped me a lot!
20. Anonymous
they are sooooooo helpful ;)
21. eli
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) really GREAT
22. BBB
simple and clear, thanks very much
23. Thando
This is really helpfu Is there any user account so we can be able to sign up and log in when ever we need help?
mb
Thanks. And no, there are no accounts. But you can comment whenever you want if its relevant to the page.
24. MA
Great useful explanation. Thanks!
25. socorro azpiri
Excelente explicacin, muy clara y sencilla, sin complicaciones. Gracias mil
26. Charlize
Okay, I came here because I ran into this sentence in a novel. I found several hotels in the area, and I called each desk and asked if Harry Jones
was registered there. The clerks checked and came back, No, sir, one after ___________.
Would the answer be different if the sentence read, Each clerk checked and came back, No, sir, one after _________.
mb
After doing a few minutes of research, I have concluded that one after the other and one after another can be used synonymously. Feel
free to correct me if Im mistaken.
27. Din
its very useful.
3 Trackbacks
1. By Other / another / others. Whats the difference? Analeiva's Blog on May 9, 2012 at 22:37
[] Explanation 0, Explanation 1, explanation 2, []
2. By Homework #5 | Class Notes on October 13, 2013 at 12:05
[] other / another / the other []
3. By Common Mistakes | Class Notes on October 13, 2013 at 17:47
[] other / another / the other : What are the rules for using these words? []
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English Grammar: Other vs. Another Difference

another + singular nonspecific countable noun

other + plural or uncountable nonspecific noun

the other + specific noun (singular, plural, countable or uncountable)

Do you think you understand?

doesn't have a job. The friend without a job's name is Craig.

girls in the world.

- Matthew Barton of Englishcurrent.com

42 Comments on this News Lesson

reading it, I still hold the same opinion.

(Posted May 22, 2014 at 21:04 | Permalink | Reply)

What do you think about the topic? Share your opinion!

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