Other, Another & Others

Form

All of these words come from other, and two questions decide which one you need: singular or plural, and one particular remaining item or just an extra one?

Another is an + other, so it points at one more item, or one more measured amount, from an open set (Can you play another song? / We waited another ten minutes), and it never takes the. Other is the adjective form and never adds -s in front of a noun, whether that noun is singular or plural (my other glove, the other students). Drop the noun and the word becomes a pronoun: the other is the one specific item left (I found one shoe — where is the other?), others means some more from an open set (Some people study at night, others in the morning), and the others is all the rest of a known group (One chair is broken, but the others are fine).

When to Use It

1. 1

   Use another for one more or a different one when the set is open and you are not pointing at a particular item

   He finished one task and immediately started another.

2. 2

   Use the other for the one specific item left, which is why it takes the

   One of my shoes is under the table. Where is the other?

3. 3

   Use the other in front of a plural noun, or a number, when it covers all the remaining members of a known group

   One student stayed behind and the other students went home.

4. 4

   Use other as a plain adjective in front of a noun, with no -s on it

   Show me some other photos.

5. 5

   Use others on its own for some more people or things from an open set

   Some people believe in luck, while others do not.

6. 6

   Use the others on its own for all the rest of a known group

   One student is absent today, but all the others are present.

Common Mistakes

• Adding -s in front of a noun: write other people, not others people — others only ever stands alone, with no noun after it.
• Leaving a singular other bare: write I have one pen. Can you lend me another?, or …the other? if there are only two, not …other? — on its own, singular other needs the, my, this or a similar word in front of it, and an + other is written as the single word another.
• Putting the in front of another: write Can I try another flavor?, not the another flavor — another already contains an.
• Reaching for another when only one item is left: with two keys on the table, write I will take this one, and you can have the other, not another — another implies there are more to choose from.
• Dropping the from the others: write One chair is broken, but the others are fine, not …but others are fine — bare others opens up an unspecified set instead of naming the rest of this one.