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Cho7712 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

other

I've found this example sentence in the on-line dictionary.

ex) This option is preferable to any other.

And the word other is used as the pronoun or the adjective by the dictionary.
Here, I'm confused that which part of speech the above 'other' belongs to.

Adjective : This option is preferable to any other (options).
or
Pronoun : This option is preferable to any other (other=option).

Which one is the proper meaning by saying the example sentence?
  

Top answer

According to different dictionaries,here's the explanation: As a pronoun,"other" comes after "the",and it's used to refer to things or people that you haven't already mentioned and/or among two things or people,you referred to one only,when you want to refer to the second part,use "the other". (Longman Dictionary). As an adjective ,"other" comes after "any",and it's used to refer to a different thing or person that you have already meantioned.

— Everlastinghope

  • According to different dictionaries,here's the explanation: As a pronoun,"other" comes after "the",and it's used to refer to things or people that you haven't already mentioned and/or among two things or people,you referred to one only,when you want to refer to the second part,use "the other".
  • (Longman Dictionary).
  • As an adjective ,"other" comes after "any",and it's used to refer to a different thing or person that you have already meantioned.
  • Example : Saudi Arabia produces more oil than any other (country).
  • Thus ,your sentence : This option is preferable to any other .
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12 Answers
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According to different dictionaries,here's the explanation:

As a pronoun,"other" comes after "the",and it's used to refer to things or people that you haven't already mentioned and/or among two things or people,you referred to one only,when you want to refer to the second part,use "the other".

Example : He kept shifting awkwardly from one foot to
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Thanks for this clear answer. It is of much help.
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Other here is a pronoun because it is not followed by a noun like in the other book.
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Mark Callan Other here is a pronoun because it is not followed by a noun like in the other book.
I agree!
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You're right Mark.
Other as an adjective needs a noun.
She's much kinder than the other girls in her class.

Other as a pronoun doesn't need
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Mark CallanOther here is a pronoun because it is not followed by a noun like in the other book.
It strikes me suddenly that the possibility of ellipsis can be applied to this sentence.

e.g. This option is preferable to any other.


The preceding noun 'option' reappears in the position after the word 'other',
so it can be thinka
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Compare:

This option is preferable to that.

What part of speech is "that"?

CJ
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It's a determiner. And what you intend to say is ,I think, that the determiner is the possible part of speech which allows the following noun's ellipsis. Does it right?

Considering the below sentence,then it gets tangled.

e.g. That new thick plastic rope that they sell is stronger than any other you can get.

Here, after the 'other' there is a NP ellipsis oc
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This option is preferable to that.

What part of speech is "that"?

___________


In many traditional grammar books "that" would be called a demonstrative pronoun, so that's what I thought you would say.


Therefore, I thought you would conclude that "other" is also a pronoun.


In the absence of a noun, an adjective form can "move
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