Another vs Other
Another and Other are two words that are often confused when it comes to their usage. They are to be construed as different words with different meanings. The word ‘another’ is used in the sense of ‘one more’ or ‘a different’. On the other hand, the word ‘other’ is used in the sense of ‘new’ or ‘additional’. This is the main difference between the two words.
Observe the two sentences:
1. Another book has been published by him.
2. There is another point to make.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word ‘another’ is used in the sense of ‘different’ or ‘one more’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘one more book has been published by him’, and ‘there is a different point to make’.
Observe the two sentences:
1. He had other things in mind.
2. She spoke of many other things in her life.
In both the sentences, the word ‘other’ is used is the sense of ‘new’ or ‘additional’. Hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘he had additional things in mind’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘she spoke of many new things in her life.’
It is interesting to note that the word ‘other’ when used along with the definite article ‘the’ gives the meaning of ‘the remaining’ as in the sentence ‘he looked at the other person and said so’. In this sentence, the word ‘the other’ is used in the sense of ‘the remaining’ and hence, the meaning of the sentence would be ‘he looked at the remaining person and said so’.
Look at the sentence ‘there is not another left in the bag’. In this sentence, the word ‘another’ is used in the sense of ‘any more’ and hence the meaning of the sentence would be ‘there is not any more left in the bag’. On the other hand, the word ‘other’ is sometimes used in the sense of ‘supplementary’ as in the sentence ‘include other lessons too for the examination’. Here the word ‘other’ is used in the sense of ‘supplementary’ and hence, the meaning of the sentence would be ‘include supplementary lessons too for the examination’.
It is important to know that both the words are used as adjectives in written and spoken English. These are the important differences between the two words, namely, another and other.
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