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Shcho23 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

others or the others?

... The targets were instructed to either steal or leave in place a movie pass in an empty room, unobserved by anyone, and then deny taking the movie ticket. So some targets were lying and some were telling the truth when denying the theft.

In the above, when replacing the second some, should I use others or the others?

Thank you so much.
  

Top answer

shcho23 leave in place a movie pass in an empty room That doesn't make sense. It appears to be contradictory.

— Teechr

  • shcho23 leave in place a movie pass in an empty room That doesn't make sense.
  • It appears to be contradictory.
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8 Answers
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shcho23leave in place a movie pass in an empty room
That doesn't make sense. It appears to be contradictory.
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teechrThat doesn't make sense
I think it should be interpreted as "...either steal a movie pass or leave in place (not steal) a movie pass / in an empty room..."

Thanks a lot.
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shcho23when replacing the second some, should I use others or the others?
No. Some stayed, and some left. Some told lies, and some told the truth. Some wanted beer, and some wanted wine.

It's a common formula.

CJ
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shcho23I think it should be interpreted as "...either steal a movie pass or leave in place (not steal) a movie pass / in an empty room..."
If there is a movie pass (whatever that might be) in the toom, then the room is not empty. You could say '... in an otherwise empty room'.
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CalifJimIt's a common formula.
Then, is neither others nor the others appropriate here?

Take for example,
Some chose O, and some chose X, in an O/X quiz. (Everyone selected either O or X.)
Even in this case, is the second some irreplaceable?

Thanks a lot.
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shcho23Then, is neither others nor the others appropriate here?
I did not say that. You asked if you should replace some with others (or the others). That's asking if it is advisable to make that replacement; it is not asking if it is wrong to make that replacement.

You may use 'others' or 'the others' if you wish.
shcho23Som
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CalifJim say 'some' and then 'the others'.
In this case, is others wrong?

I have a felling that it is, because there's no one that selected neither of the answers, and there's no one that selected both.

So in my original post, if I can replace the second some with something else, it should be the others, not ot
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shcho23In this case, is others wrong?
Yes.
shcho23So in my original post, if I can replace the second some with something else, it should be the others, not others, am I right?
Yes, if you want to partition the set, i.e., use up all possibilities.

Some did this and some did that = Some did this and others did that.
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