Another or The other

Question

Hi all,I have difficulty in grasping the other and another. What are the main differences between them? How can I distinguish them easily?otherthe otherothersthe othersanother for example here are some test questions:There are three books in my backpack. One is a maths book and ......... is a chemistry book.the otheranotherThere are ten pieces of fruit in my basket. One is an orange, one is a lemon and ......... is an apple.the other anotherAre there any formulas to find the difference between these quantifiers? I need some help. Thanks.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Another = one more, a different one
I ate a slice of pizza. It was so good that I think I'll have another.

Other(s) = the one(s) not selected / mentioned

The people who wore green hats went in first. The others had to wait in line.
I have two phones. One is an old dumb phone. The other is a new iPhone.

There are three books in my backpack. One is a maths book and ...(another)...... is a chemistry book.
There are three books. So you cannot use "the other" because there are two left, and you mean "a different one."

Compare with this:
There are three books. Two are maths books; the other (the one not selected or mentioned) is a chemistry book.
There are three books. One is a maths books; the others (the ones not selected or mentioned) are chemistry books.

CalifJim · Answer

A S D F G Q W E R T

There are 10.
One is A; another is S; another is D; another is F; another is G; another is Q; ...; another is T.
Nine of them are A, S, D, F, G, Q, W, E, and R. [The other / The last one / The tenth one] is T.

P Q R
There are three.
One is P; another is Q; another is R.
Two of them are P and Q. [The other / The last one / The third one] is R.

X Y
There are two.
One is X; the other is Y.

In a list, "the other (one)" is the last one you say.
When no more remain except one, this last one is "the other (one)".
But most often you're dealing with two things.
These are the first thing and the second thing, i.e., one thing and the other thing.

This past Christmas holiday we set up and decorated two trees, one in the living room, and the other in the front yard.
I used to have two computers, but one of them stopped working. Fortunately, the other one still works.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much. Very useful explanation <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Another or The other

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions