47 Another vs Other vs the Other

Determiners are modifiers of nouns. They can provide a wide range of information. {see Determiners, A2}

Another, Other and The other look similar but they have differences in meaning.

Below you can see which kind of nouns they are used with:

* The Other has so much variety (specific singular, plural, countable or uncountable nouns).

Another

• I would love another glass of the rosé wine, please.
• She mops the floor and another person washes the dishes.
• We bought another vase yesterday.

Other

• Have you got any other curtains?
• He hired some other people to decorate his house.
• They can’t help us choose a good oven because they’re busy with other customers.

The other

• I have two mirrors. One of them is big. The other mirror is small.
• She’s got two sons. One son is 12. The other son is only 2.
• There are two bedside tables. One is white and the other one is brown.

Another:

It is used when the meaning is “one more” (an additional item/thing/person).

Other:

It is used when something/someone is different from something/someone mentioned before. It also gives the meaning of “extra”, “additional”.

The other:

It is used to make a contrast between two choices which are different or opposite.

Another, Other and The Other are all very similar, however, they are all used with different nouns. Another is used with single, countable non-specific nouns, Other is used with plural countable and uncountable non-specific nouns, and The Other is used with specific singular, plural, countable or uncountable nouns.

For example:
— “I bought an another house last week.” = I bought one house more even though I have one house already.
- “I bought other houses last week.” = I bought many more houses.
- “There were 2 houses in that district. I didn’t like the red one. I bought the other one.” = I didn’t choose the red one, I bought the remaining house.

Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section which shows its use within a context.