Other vs. Another

     After more than 35 years, I am finally living in my native Virginia again.  I am also in a unique position to observe my 10-year old granddaughter learn English as her second language.  She has been studying fourth grade in the local public school for the last seven months.  Her English is “awesome,” which is one of her favorite words; but there are some things that she is having difficulty mastering.  If she is having difficulty in an environment where she is completely immersed 24-7 in English, then these may be problem areas for other students learning English; so we will address them in the next few blogs.

     "Other" and “another” are troublesome.  According to the websites consulted and listed under references below, a simple general rule is to follow is to use “another” before a singular, noncount specific noun and “other” with a plural or uncountable nonspecific noun.

 

Examples according to the above guideline:

• Let’s call another volunteer on the list to see if they can come in and help with the cookie sales.

• Another problem the organizing committee is facing is finding a centrally located convention   site.
• Other people have been having problems logging onto Internet in this area.
• Mary and John want to find other locations to set up their business.

     From observing my granddaughter and correcting her, I have made the following observations.  When there are ONLY two items or two possibilities, we use “other.”  When there are three or more possibilities, “another” is used.  Notice that there only has to be a possibility of three or more things; they do not actually have to be present. 

      Let's imagine that a husband and wife are looking for a picture or painting to brighten up their living room décor.  There are many places they can go to find something to both their liking.  In the first store they did not see anything either one of them liked, so the husband says, “Let’s go to another store.”  By saying “another,” he is saying that there are other places where they can go to look for a picture.  If he had said, “Let’s go to the other store,” then anyone who overhears this comment understands that there are only two businesses where pictures may be purchased in that place.



One picture

     After visiting several stores, the husband and wife have finally found a picture that they agree on, but there are two models. One has a traditional frame and the other has a more contemporary frame.  The husband states, “I like the one with the traditional frame;” but his wife says, “I like the other one better.  It is more in keeping with our style.”


The other picture

     Now, we know that there are millions of pictures and paintings in the world, but in this situation there are only two options.  the only choice is between one or the other.  If there were three or more different types of frames to make a selection from, then neither “other” nor “another would be used; we would have to refer to each with a more specific description such as “the one on the left/right,” “the one in the middle,” the one with the gold/silver/white frame,” or “the traditional/contemporary/retro one.”

 
     “Other” and “another” can be used either as an adjective or a pronoun.

     When followed by a noun or another pronoun, they are considered adjectives:

            Examples:

• Frequently when we socialize with friends, we have several rounds.  At the end of the evening, someone will probably say, “Let’s have another round before calling it a night.” 
• Some friends are buying a gift for Sheila and they have come down to two choices.  One of them picks up one of the sweaters but another friend disagrees and says, “Sheila would like the other sweater better because it’s her favorite color.”
• Of the two bags I liked, I wish I’d have picked the other one.  This one is of very poor quality which I didn’t realize at the time.
• John would like another piece of cake, but he is too embarrassed to ask. (Here the connotation is that John has already had at least two pieces of cake and there is the possibility to have more pieces since there is cake left.)
•  June asked the sales clerk if there was another blouse like this one in her size. (Because June does not know how many blouses of that model are in stock, she assumes that there must be more than two.)

If you think you have got the gist of “other” and “another”, go to http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ei074/esl-test.php to test yourself.

 

References: Listed in order of helpfulness

• http://www.learn-english-today.com/lessons/lesson_contents/grammar/other-another.html
• http://www.helping-you-learn-english.com/difference-between-other-and-another.html
• http://www.englishcurrent.com/grammar/other-another-difference/ 

Capitalizing and Punctuating Sentences

    Several weeks ago, the article on the opening page of the PG was written without any textual cues--capital letters or punctuation marks.  What motivated me to write thusly were the countless text messages and e-mails which I receive and have received that did not have either.  Often it took two or more readings to understand with the sender was trying to communicate and sometimes the response asked for clarification. 

     Here is the same article again, but this time it should be a little bit easier to understand.

     The ability to write is a talent just as being able to paint pictures, compose music, sculpt, or create or interpret any other art form; but unlike the other arts, every literate person sooner or later writes--be it a simple to do list or report or text message.  Now with modern means of instant communication not only through cellular phones but also through e-mails, the conventions of capitalization and punctuation are being disregarded.  A person may not be a modern day Shakespeare; but every time a person writes even a SMS, he is trying to convey a message and punctuation and capitalization are aids to help the reader interpret the message.   A capital letter tells the reader where a sentence starts and lets him know if a string of letters is an acronym and not a mistake of key punching.  OF COURSE THERE ARE THOSE PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO USE ONLY CAPITAL LETTERS WHICH MAKES THE READER THINK THE WRITER IS YELLING.  Maybe capital letters can be disregarded in the rush to produce an instant message and most of the punctuation marks ignored, but a period at the end of each sentence would be nice so that the reader knows where one idea ends and the next begins,

    What do you think the following sentence means?

woman without her man is nothing

 

  There are a few ways to punctuate the above sentence and I had hoped that I would have received some answers through the comments.  There are two interpretations and several possibilities of how to punctuate the sentence to illicit one of the meanings:

 

A woman needs a man to be a contribution to society.

• Woman without her man is nothing.

 A man needs a woman to be a contribution to society.

• Woman: without her, man is nothing.
• Woman--without her, man is nothing.
• Woman! Without her, man is nothing.

     So please at least get in the habit of using a period at the end of your sentences whenever you write anything.  It will make it so much easier for your reader to understand.

no caps or punctuation

     the ability to write is a talent just as being able to paint pictures compose music sculpt or create or interpret any other art form but unlike the other arts every literate person sooner or later writes be it a simple to do list or report or text message now with modern means of instant communication not only through cellular phones but also through e mails the conventions of capitalization and punctuation are being disregarded a person may not be a modern day shakespeare but every time a person writes even a sms he is trying to convey a message and punctuation and capitalization are aids to help the reader interpret the message  a capital letter tells the reader where a sentence starts and lets him know if a string of letters is an acronym and not a mistake of key punching OF COURSE THERE ARE THOSE PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO USE ONLY CAPITAL LETTERS WHICH MAKES THE READER THINK THE WRITER IS YELLING maybe capital letters can be disregarded in the rush to produce an instant message and most of the punctuation marks ignored but a period at the end of each sentence would be nice so that the reader knows where one idea ends and the next begins what do you think the following sentence means

woman without her man is nothing

 

 

 

PG Blog

     Have you been wondering what has happened to the PG?     

     Because of travelling, it has not been as easy to prepare a biweekly newsletter during the school year (Oct - July).  So the time has come to go completely viral and turn the PG into a blog. After a great deal of doubt as to whether I could blog or not, I have finally taken the leap and am now giving it a go.  I look forward to your feedback.