Antonio,
This is a direct quotation from ‘A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language’, by Randolph Quirk, and 5 other English professors.
Page 388-39.
6.58
Other and another.
Other as a post-determiner follows the other determiners, including quantifiers and (sometimes) numerals.
All the other women; her other sister| that other colour; many other ideas | several other trees; two other trees.
As a pronoun, it can follow the same wide range of determiners; it also occurs in a plural form others.
Some people complained, but others were more tolerant.
Where are all the others [‘people, books’, etc.]
I have one sock, but I’ve lost the other (one).
Others is used in an absolute sense in:
We should be considerate to others. [‘other people generally’]
Another, although spelt as a single word, is to be considered a fusion of the two words an and other, or alternatively as a reduced version of one other:
I sold my bicycle and bought another (one).
Apart from its usual meaning, another also has an incremental meaning of ‘a further’ or ‘one more’.
May I borrow another piece of paper? [‘an additional piece of paper’]
In this sense, another can be followed by a numeral and a plural noun.
The farm already has ten cows, but they are buying another five (cows). [‘five more cows’]
Although comparatively rare with the of-construction, other/others and another may be classed with the of-pronouns. Examples of their use with this construction are:
Some members of our expedition wanted to climb to the summit, but others of us thought it too dangerous.
I saw another of those yellow butterflies yesterday.
The genitive of another and other is rare when the reference is general:
(*another’s )
She has ( another person’s ) coat.
( somebody else’s )
*= UNNACEPTABLE.
?= NATIVE SPEAKERS UNSURE ABOUT ACCEPTABILITY.
We are not interested in (?other’s )
( other people’s ) problems.
But with narrower reference:
Each looked after (the other’s bag [two people]
(the others’ bags[several people]
The following are abbreviated quotations, showing only examples of relevant sentences.
Page 364.
6.31
Reciprocal pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns.
Adam and Eve blamed themselves. = ‘Adam blamed himself and Eve blamed herself’.
Reciprocal pronouns.
Adam and Eve blamed each other. = ‘Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed Adam’.
All the children trust one another.
The party leaders promised to give each other their support.
Meg and Bill are very fond of each other.
They each blamed the other.
The passengers disembarked one after another.
The genitive form of reciprocal pronouns.
The students can borrow (each other’s ) books
(one another’s)
Ann and Bob wrote letters to each other.
Other sentences:
Each of the twins wanted to know what the other was doing.
The twins wanted each other to be present at all times.
Their letters to each other were delivered by a servant.
Page 386-387.
6.54.
Numerical ONE
I saw two suspicious looking men. (The) one went this way, the other that.
One of his eyes is better than the other.
We overtook one car after another. OR, We overtook one car after the other.
I’ve been busy with one thing or another.
The adverbial use of these correlatives:
They talked one with another. Formal.
They talked with one another. Colloquial.
She stacked the books one on top of the other.
I’m sorry that this Post is long-winded, but it’s not a simple topic.
I hope it helps you.
Les Douglas
!