Another, other, others, the other, the others

Another, other, others, the other, the others

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Another vs other (determiners)

We can use another and other as determiners, i.e. before a noun.

Use another + a singular noun.

• I need another cup of coffee.

Use other + a plural noun.

• I want to talk to other doctors.

❗ Note that determiners don’t have a plural form. We say:

• I want to talk to others doctors.
• I want to talk to other doctors.

Another vs others (pronouns)

We can use another as a pronoun, i.e. not followed by a noun.

• I’ve already had one beer, but I’ll have another. 

Others is always a pronoun, i.e. never followed by a noun.

• I don’t want to use these glasses. Aren’t there any others? (=other glasses)

Other vs others

We normally use other + a plural noun.

• I want to see other shops before deciding. 

Others is a pronoun, i.e. not followed by a noun.

• A lot of volunteers have joined us, but we need to find others. 

The other, the others

The other + noun

Use the other + a singular noun to mean ‘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.

We could also say the other one instead of the other computer.

Use the other + a plural noun to mean ‘the remaining people or things in a group or set’.

• Joel and Karen are here, but where are the other kids? (the remaining kids in the group)

The other or the others (without a noun)

We can also use the other as a pronoun (not followed by a noun).

• This computer here is new. The other is about five years old.

We can also use the others as a pronoun (not followed by a noun).

• Joel and Karen are here, but where are the others? (the remaining kids in the group)