Another - Other - Others
My pupils often ask me about these three words. It seems to be a tricky topic. Let's see if we can understand it! Take it easy, read carefully and do the exercise at the end.
ANOTHER is a determiner or a pronoun.
Determiner:
It goes with countable SINGULAR nouns.
It means 'one
more'.
Examples:
Can I have another cup of coffee?
I want another glass of water.
Would you like another piece of cake?
Examples:
Can I have another cup of coffee?
I want another glass of water.
Would you like another piece of cake?
It also can
mean 'alternative' or 'different'.
I would prefer another
colour. (I would prefer a different colour)
Pronoun:
It takes the place of a SINGULAR noun, but with the same meaning: 'one more' or 'different'.
Pronoun:
It takes the place of a SINGULAR noun, but with the same meaning: 'one more' or 'different'.
Examples:
Can I have another? (Can I have one more?)
I want another. (I want one more.)
Would you like another? (Would you like one more?)
I would prefer another.
OTHER is a determiner or a pronoun.
It can go with SINGULAR and PLURAL nouns.
It means 'alternative', 'different'.
Can I have another? (Can I have one more?)
I want another. (I want one more.)
Would you like another? (Would you like one more?)
I would prefer another.
OTHER is a determiner or a pronoun.
It can go with SINGULAR and PLURAL nouns.
It means 'alternative', 'different'.
Examples:
I don't want this one. I want the other one.
He can do other things.
Are there any other alternatives?
No other man can do what he does.
I don't want this one. I want the other one.
He can do other things.
Are there any other alternatives?
No other man can do what he does.
Pronoun:
It takes the place of a SINGULAR noun, but with the same meaning: ‘alternative’ or ‘different’. Usually with ‘the’.
It takes the place of a SINGULAR noun, but with the same meaning: ‘alternative’ or ‘different’. Usually with ‘the’.
Examples:
I don’t want this one. I want the other.
No other can do what he does.
I don’t want this one. I want the other.
No other can do what he does.
OTHERS is a pronoun.
It takes the
place of a PLURAL noun, but with the same meaning: ‘alternative’ or
‘different’.
Examples:
He can do others. (He can do other things)
Are there any others? (Are there any other alternatives?)
He can do others. (He can do other things)
Are there any others? (Are there any other alternatives?)
Exercise: fill in the blanks with another,
other or others.
1. I want _______________ cup of coffee.
2. Would you like ________________ piece of
cake?
3. I think we should make __________________
plans just in case.
4. We need some chairs. I’ll take these ones
and you can take the ___________.
5. Do you have ______________ types available?
6. A: Have ____________________ sausage.
B: No, thanks. I’ve had enough.
6. A: Have ____________________ sausage.
B: No, thanks. I’ve had enough.
7. You take one bag and I’ll take the
________________ one.
8. I really hope there are ___________________
alternatives.
9. This bike might be slow but ______________
are much faster.
10. We really need to buy ________________ car,
so that we can have two cars at home.
11. I’m going to sell this car and get
______________ one.
12. She had an umbrella in one hand and her
purse in the _________________.
13. This is just __________________ day in my
life.
14. How many _________________ people are
coming?
15. Would you like this one or the
_______________ one?
16. I’d like __________________ vacation right
now. It’s not enough!
17. They’re not for you., they’re for
___________________.
18. This is my sister Mary. I have
_______________ three sisters too.
19. I don’t want these shoes, I want the
_________________ because they go with my dress.
20. Are there any __________________ questions?
KEY: another/ another/ other/ others/ other/ another/ other/ other/ others/ another/ other/ other/ another/ other/ other/ another/ others (or 'another' or 'the other')/ other/ others/ other
