other, others, the other, another

Other

Other | General Meaning

[adjective] denoting a person or thing that is different or distinct from one already mentioned or known about; further or additional:

• Stick the camera on a tripod or some other means of support.
• One other word of advice.

[pronoun] a person or thing that is different or distinct from one already mentioned or known about; a further or additional person or thing of the type aleady mentioned:

• A topic unrelated to any other.
• She is the author of five books and collaborated on four others. (as a pronoun, other has a plural form)

 

Other | Determiner

* determiner is one that determines (such as an article, possessive, demonstrative, or quantifier) that makes specific the denotation of a noun phrase

 

"Other" is used with singular uncountalbe or plural nouns:

• The English website has general information about English grammar. Other information on how to practice speaking alone at home can be obtained as well. (additional or extra information)
• Some movies calm people; other movies has the opposite effect. (different types of music)
• This one is too small. Do you have it in other sizes? (alternative sizes)

 

Determiner + other

If we use "other" before a singular countable noun, we must use another determiner before it:

• I don’t like the yellow one. I prefer the other color.
• David is married; our other son is still single.
• He can speak English like native speaks of English. No other learner has ever gotten to the same level.
• There’s one other thing we need to talk about before we finish.

 

The other

The other | General Meaning 

[determiner] denoting the person or thing that remains or that has not been shown or mentioned yet:

• This computer here is new. The other computer is about six years old. (the other with a singular noun)
• David and Sue are here, but where are the other kids? (the other with plural nouns)

[pronoun] the person or thing that remains or that has not been shown or mentioned yet:

• I held on with one hand and waved with the other. Each of them looked at the other. 
• An opposite place or thing We moved from one side of town to the other.

 

Another 

Another | General Meaning

[determiner] used to refer to an additional person or thing of the same type as one already mentioned or known about; one more; a further:

• Have another drink.
• Come back another day.

We use another with singular nouns:

• Would you like another cup of coffee?
• I don’t like this café. Is there another café around here we could go to?

[pronoun] an additional person or thing of the same type as one already mentioned or known about:

• BIGBANG is another of his favorite singers in Korea.
• They kept moving from one place to another.

 

Other, others, the other or another | typical errors

When other is a determiner, it does not have a plural form:

• Those boxes are for glassess. The other boxes are for computers.

When "other" as a pronoun refers to more than one person or thing, it takes the plural form, "others":

• If he treats me differently than others, I'm sure it's because we are married.

Other must have a determiner before it when it comes in front of a singular countable noun. If the noun is indefinite (e.g. a book, a woman, an idea), we use another:

• No, try this other credit card instead. I think it's okay. 
• You’ll have to ask my other half.
• Let me fire up another window.
• Many years later I returned to Africa but that’s another story.

Another is singular. We don’t use it with plural nouns:

• It capped yet another flawless performance from Kim and another record-breaking day.