Other and Another
I was teaching a private lesson in a cafe last week. My student works in a hotel, and she was telling me about something that happened at work. She explained the situation but had trouble with the difference between OTHER and ANOTHER. I helped her to talk about it using natural English.
*was moved is the passive voice. Learn that grammar here
Definitions from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/another?q=Another
① another = one more; an extra thing or person
This is a common way to use another in conversation. Think of another as 2 words, an other. We know that the articles a and an mean 1.
An umbrella = 1 umbrella
It’s easy to see that another (an_other) can mean 1 more thing. Please look at the following examples:
- The extra thing can be a singular noun.
(Would you like one more drink?)
“I ate a piece of cake after dinner, it was very tasty so I had another!”
(One more piece of cake.)
“As soon as I finished my task at work my boss gave me another… I have to work overtime tonight.”
(I have an extra task to do now)
“Another Starbucks is opening downtown next week. There will be 6 cafes in 3 blocks!”
(One more Starbucks is coming)
📓Grammar note
- The extra thing can also be a plural noun that follows of.
(It’s one more of his stupid tricks.)
- Or the extra thing can be by a number and a plural noun.
“We’re close, just another 5 kilometers.”
(5 more kilometers until we arrive.)
A: “Are you finished folding the laundry?”
Compare other
“Are there any other questions?”
📓Grammar note
Other is often used with plural countable nouns.
“Stacy and 3 other students were late for class because of the sudden, heavy rainstorm.”
For additional uses of other please check Oxford Learner’s dictionary .com
🔴What about my student’s example?
“One of the guests wasn’t happy with his room so he was moved to another one.”
The guest didn’t get one more room, he got a different room. This is the second meaning of another.
② another = different; a different person or thing
“It’s raining today, let’s go to the park another time.”
“The shirt had a small stain on the sleeve so I asked the store staff for another one.”
“One of the guests wasn’t happy with his room so he was moved to another one.”
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The word another has a third use.
③ another = a person or thing of a very similar type
“My niece is a great artist. She’s going to be another Leonardo da Vinci!” (= as talented and famous as him)
“It was sad to lose Robin Williams in 2014. He was a great comedian, there will never be another like him.”
Idioms with another
Idioms from idioms.thefreedictionary.com
one way or another – by some means, by some method
*We often use this expression when we are confident that something will be done, even if we don’t know how yet.
“I had never built a fence before, but I would get it done one way or another.” = I don’t have experience building a fence, but I will complete this task somehow, some way.
“My blog was offline for a few days, but I was determined to get it back online one way or another.”
one after another – one (noun) after another
first one person or thing, and then another, and then another, in a row and often quickly; adding up to a large amount
“I had a great time fishing this morning! I was catching one fish after another.” = I caught many fish in a row, in the end, I had a lot of fish.
“This house was a bad investment. The repair bills kept coming in, one after another.” = I got many repair bills for my new house, the came quickly and in a row.
