OTHER vs. ANOTHER: Understand and Use Them Correctly

[Music] Hi.  

I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. You  know, I'd like to put on an old favorite pair of  

earrings, but I think I'd look strange. You see?  The one earring is fine, but the other is missing  

a piece. It fell off somewhere. I can't bring  myself to throw the pair away, so I've decided  

to hold on to both earrings for now. It's okay.  I don't have to wear these. I could always wear  

another pair because I have a lot of earrings.  In this lesson, we'll make sure you understand  

the difference between the words OTHER and  ANOTHER. They both can refer to an addition,  

so we'll have to review when we use one and, well,  not the other. You see, if we have two things,  

two groups, two people, we can refer to one or  the other. "The other" means the second one,  

the other one. Like the other earring that  belongs to this pair. If I choose another  

pair of earrings, they'll be different. The word  "another" has two meanings: more or different.  

Maybe after this grammar video, you'll want to  watch another. You can watch one more, one more  

lesson. And if you watch another video, it will  likely be on another topic -- a different topic.  

Notice how I can use "another" all alone  because it can be a pronoun. Watch another.  

You know what I'm referring to: another  video. So I can also use "another" before  

a noun because "another" can function  as a determiner. Watch another video.  

Also, we usually use "another" with  a singular noun. I can talk about  

another video, but not "another videos."  However, I can talk about other videos.  

"Other" can be used with a singular or  plural noun. Here's the good earring.  

The other earring is missing a piece. Sadly,  my other earrings aren't as pretty as these.  

Notice how I used "other" after a possessive  adjective: my other earrings. I can't do  

that with the word "another." I can't say "my  another earring." Why? "Other" can be a pronoun,  

determiner, or an adjective. Not this one  but the other. Not you. I mean other people.  

Not that brother. It's my other brother. It gets  a little tricky when we start using numbers and  

quantifiers. Look at the possible patterns.  Number or quantifier + other + plural noun.  

I have many other videos. Three other videos  are specifically on the parts of speech.

Another + number or quantifier + plural  noun. If you want a new grammar video,  

you'll have to wait another couple  of weeks. Maybe another three weeks.  

Not only is the word order different, but  think about the difference in meaning.  

When I talk about my other videos, they're in a  collection, so there's a limited number. There  

are a lot of them, but it's a limited number  of videos. When I talk about needing another  

two weeks or another three weeks to make a new  grammar video, there really isn't a limited  

number or a limited amount of time. I could add  another day and then another and then another.

Remember the importance of the definite article,  which helps us make a specific reference.  

When I talk about the other videos in my grammar  playlist, it's a specific reference to the rest  

of the videos in that collection. Compare: Other  grammar videos on YouTube may also be helpful.  

"Other" without the definite article is  a reference to all the rest all those  

videos outside my playlist, videos not  included in my collection. Does that make  

sense? Let me give you some more examples.  Have you ever heard about eating contests?  

The concept is funny and awful at the same time.  There's one in New York called Nathan's Famous  

Hot Dog Contest, where people try to eat  as many hot dogs as they can in 10 minutes,  

so you can watch a contestant eat a hot dog really  fast and then another and then another and then  

another. There's no limit. I think the record  is like 60 or 70 hot dogs! A contestant might  

be thinking, "Yeah, I can need another 20 hot  dogs." Another + number + plural noun. So, while  

one person is eating a lot of hot dogs, a couple  dozen other contestants are doing the same thing.  

Number or quantifier + other + plural noun.  There's a limited number of contestants each year.  

If I know the exact number, I could use  a different pattern, another pattern.  

You can focus on one contestant because the  other 29 contestants are doing the same thing.

The other + number + plural noun

I'm using "the other" to mean the rest, the  rest of the people in that group, and it's a  

limited number of people. I'm not exactly sure.  In my example, I used 30, so I think it's around  

there. We can focus on one or two and then talk  about the rest, the rest of those contestants,  

the other 28 the other 27. Okay. Well, just  thinking about a hot dog eating contest can  

make you feel sick. Right? So let's choose another  topic, a different one. I'd like to tell you a  

little bit about my trip to Paris. I'd like you  to complete my sentences with the correct words.

1. We visited the Eiffel Tower soon after we  arrived. There are two lines to buy tickets.  

One is for the elevator. The other is for the  stairs. We chose the stairs. What a workout!

2. On our second day, Wednesday, we took  a boat ride on the Seine and visited Petit  

Palais. Of course, there are many museums  in Paris, so you may be tempted to say,  

"Oh, is that just another museum?" But  Petit Palais worth visiting. It has a  

beautiful interior and interesting  exhibits. Oh and it's also free!

3. At night, we went up to the roof  of Arc de Triomphe. We had seen the  

city from the Eiffel Tower, but this was  another way to enjoy the city at night.

4. On Thursday, we spent the day at  the Louvre. We couldn't see everything,  

but we did see the Mona Lisa. Everyone wants  to see her. I think about a hundred other  

people were in the room with us trying to get  a good look at Leonardo da Vinci's painting.

5. We fit in a trip to a glitzy  department store called the Galeries  

Lafayette Haussmann. When you're in Paris,  you can easily come up with one reason or  

another to go shopping. My kids wanted  new sunglasses, and I needed some makeup.

6. It seemed like our days were full of  one metro ride after another. One late  

night ride took us to Jason's home.  Our families met for the first time.

7. On Friday, we did quite a few things.  We went to the famous Luxembourg Gardens.  

We relaxed and watched kids sail  boats. We also visited the Catacombs,  

which other people might find strange,  but we appreciated the experience.

8. On Saturday, we went to Versailles. It  was beautiful. We saw as much as we could,  

but we'll have to return another time to see more.

9. On Sunday, we had time for two excursions.  First, we checked out the Opera House. The other  

tour required a lot more time. We visited  the Army Museum, including Napoleon's tomb.

10. There were a few other  small trips we squeezed in.  

We managed to visit a lovely park  called Parc des Buttes Chaumont.

Well, how did you do? Well, we can always  practice more another time. That's all for now.  

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