The Other and The Others — The Remaining One(s)
Master 'the other' for the remaining item of a pair and 'the others' for the remaining members of a specific group. Error-correction, fill-blank and transformation exercises.
-
I have two cats. One is black and ___ is white.
Show answer
the other
With two items, the second one is 'the other'.
-
Three of the students passed the test, but ___ failed.
Show answer
the others
'The others' means the rest of the group — the remaining students.
-
She has two sisters: one is a doctor and ___ is a teacher.
Show answer
the other
With two items, the second one is 'the other'.
-
He has two hands: he writes with one and waves with ___.
Show answer
the other
With exactly two items, the second is 'the other'.
-
Two of us stayed late at the office; ___ went home early.
Show answer
the others
'The others' means the rest of a known group.
-
I don't want the green cup — please give me ___.
Show answer
the other one
With two cups, 'the other one' is the remaining one.
-
Shopping for a winter coat
Yesterday I went shopping for a warm winter coat. The first {1} I tried on was far too small, so the assistant brought me {2}. That {3} was warmer, but I disliked the colour, so she found me {4} in dark blue. There were two blue coats left on the rail: {5} had a hood, and {6} didn't. I much preferred the {7} with the hood — it was exactly the {8} I had been looking for.
Show answer
1. one — 'One' replaces 'coat' — the first one I tried on.
2. another — 'Another' = one more coat to try.
3. one — 'That one' replaces 'coat'.
4. another — 'Another' = a different coat, this time in dark blue.
5. one — 'One' of the two blue coats — 'one had a hood'.
6. the other — With two coats, the second is 'the other'.
7. one — 'The one with the hood' replaces 'coat'.
8. one — 'The one I had been looking for' replaces 'coat'.
The Other and The Others: Closed Sets and Remaining Items
The other and the others signal that the speaker is referring to the remaining item(s) of a closed, known set. The definite article 'the' is the grammatical marker of this specificity — both speaker and listener know exactly which one(s) are meant. The other refers to the remaining one of a pair; the others refers to the remaining members of a specific group of three or more. Learner corpus data shows that the most frequent error at B1 is replacing 'the other' with 'another' when the set contains exactly two items — for example, 'She has two jobs. One is well-paid, but another is not.' (should be 'the other').
The Other — Remaining One of a Pair
Here are two options. One is cheap; the other is more expensive.
I have two gloves but I can only find one. Where's the other?
The Others — Remaining Members of a Specific Group
I've read three of the books. I'll read the others during the holiday.
Five people came to the meeting. Two left early. The others stayed until the end.
Common Mistakes
✗ I have two gloves. Where's another? → ✓ the other. (specific missing glove of a pair)
✗ She has two jobs. One is well-paid, but another is not. → ✓ the other. (closed set of two)
Last updated: · Satori Editorial