Other vs Another

So far, I have spent the first four days of the week blogging about factory vocabulary.   But no more!    Now I am going to put more emphasis on grammar.   The reason?   Many of my students have been asking grammar questions.   As a native speaker I have not had to know grammar because it either “sounds right” or it does not.   When I was asked about how to use “Other” vs “Another” I realised that I could easily use these words in daily speech but I could not explain how they work.    It would be a shame for me to try and do a better job than ESLteacherTom.   His video should be watched.

This topic actually has to be divided into Another, The Other, The Others and Others as Tom points out.

What I will do is give some sample sentences with bicycles as the subject with brief explanations attached.

I am going to buy another bicycle.   (This implies you already have one and are getting one more but you have not specified which one)

I am going to buy the other bicycle.  (This implies you have looked at one or more bicycles and have rejected them but the person who is with you understands which one you want to buy).

I am going to buy the others bicycle.   (This does not make sense because “the others” is meant to talk about something plural but we are talking about only one, singular bicycle)

I am going to buy others bicycle.   (Others here is meant to refer to something plural and non-specific but bicycle is singular)

This article is a work on progress and more examples will be added.   For now….

If you have any questions leave a comment or send me an email at doug@English-With-Doug.com.