Other vs. Another
2022-06-25
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Mahad, a reader of our website, about the difference between "other" and "another."
2Hello,
3I would like to know the difference between "another" and "other."
4Mahad
5Dear Mahad,
6Thank you for writing to us.
7Although we have written about the subject for Everyday Grammar, we will take a closer look at the differences between "other" and "another" in this week's Ask a Teacher.
8Let us discuss "other" as a determiner and as an adjective.
9An adjective describes a noun. Determiners also give information about nouns, but they describe things like how many or whose.
10The word "other" can have many meanings such as "not included" or "remaining," "different" or "distinct," "additional," and "different kinds of."
11And we use "other" with plural nouns and nouns that cannot be counted (noncount nouns).
12"Other" is also used to describe nouns in a general way.
13There are other sports to watch on TV if football isn't on.
14In this example, "other" means "different kinds of."
15So, instead of watching football, we can watch a different sport.
16Is there other wood for the fire? This wood is damp.
17The word "wood," in this example, is a noncount noun.
18Here "other" means "different" wood, such as dry wood.
19If we use "other" before some kinds of nouns, we must use another determiner before it, like "the."
20The word "the" makes the sentence more specific.
21"The other" can be used with plural countable nouns, too.
22My dog played with the other dog at the park.
23(The remaining dog)
24My dog played with the other dogs at the park
25(The other remaining dogs)
26In these sentences, "other" is used as an adjective because "the" is used as the determiner.
27"Another" is a combination of "an" + "other."
28"Another" is a determiner. It is only used with singular nouns. It does not refer to anything or anyone specific.
29It can mean "one more," "an additional one of the same kind," or "different from the first."
30Let's look at some examples:
31My dog played with another dog of her breed at the park.
32In this example, "another" means "an additional one of the same kind."
33The sport of soccer has another name in many other countries. They call it football.
34In this sentence, "another" means "one more."
35(An additional or one more name for soccer)
36Is there another kind of music that you play besides classical?
37And here, "another" means "different from the first."
38(A different kind of music than classical music)
39The biggest difference between these two words is that "another" is always singular and does not describe anything specific.
40"Other" is used for plural and noncount nouns that are general.
41We only use "the other" to refer to specific nouns.
42Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Mahad.
43What question do you have about American English?
44Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
45And that's Ask a Teacher.
46I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Mahad, a reader of our website, about the difference between "other" and "another." 2Question: 3Hello, 4I would like to know the difference between "another" and "other." 5Mahad 6Answer: 7Dear Mahad, 8Thank you for writing to us. Although we have written about the subject for Everyday Grammar, we will take a closer look at the differences between "other" and "another" in this week's Ask a Teacher. 9Other 10Let us discuss "other" as a determiner and as an adjective. An adjective describes a noun. Determiners also give information about nouns, but they describe things like how many or whose. 11The word "other" can have many meanings such as "not included" or "remaining," "different" or "distinct," "additional," and "different kinds of." 12And we use "other" with plural nouns and nouns that cannot be counted (noncount nouns). "Other" is also used to describe nouns in a general way. 13There are other sports to watch on TV if football isn't on. 14In this example, "other" means "different kinds of." So, instead of watching football, we can watch a different sport. 15Is there other wood for the fire? This wood is damp. 16The word "wood," in this example, is a noncount noun. Here "other" means "different" wood, such as dry wood. 17Other as an adjective 18If we use "other" before some kinds of nouns, we must use another determiner before it, like "the." 19The word "the" makes the sentence more specific. 20"The other" can be used with plural countable nouns, too. 21My dog played with the other dog at the park. 22(The remaining dog) 23My dog played with the other dogs at the park 24(The other remaining dogs) 25In these sentences, "other" is used as an adjective because "the" is used as the determiner. 26Another 27"Another" is a combination of "an" + "other." 28"Another" is a determiner. It is only used with singular nouns. It does not refer to anything or anyone specific. 29It can mean "one more," "an additional one of the same kind," or "different from the first." 30Let's look at some examples: 31My dog played with another dog of her breed at the park. 32In this example, "another" means "an additional one of the same kind." 33The sport of soccer has another name in many other countries. They call it football. 34In this sentence, "another" means "one more." 35(An additional or one more name for soccer) 36Is there another kind of music that you play besides classical? 37And here, "another" means "different from the first." 38(A different kind of music than classical music) 39Summary 40The biggest difference between these two words is that "another" is always singular and does not describe anything specific. "Other" is used for plural and noncount nouns that are general. We only use "the other" to refer to specific nouns. 41Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Mahad. 42What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 43And that's Ask a Teacher. 44I'm Faith Pirlo. 45Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 46Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 47____________________________________________________________________ 48Words in This Story 49distinct - adj. different and separate 50damp - adj. somewhat or slightly wet 51breed - n. a particular kind of dog, cat, horse or similar animal