同義/近義詞辨析2 「其他」other, another, others等
從詞性來說,other 只能作為限定詞,也即只能用在名詞之前。another既可以當限定詞,也可以當代詞,而others只能當代詞。
從用法上來說:
other
other表示其他的:
- Does anyone have any other ideas? 即除了剛才提到的這個或這些主意/想法之外,誰還有沒有其他的主意/想法?
- I have no other friends but you.
- We can do as well as other people.
other後面一般跟可數名詞複數(極個別情況下跟不可數名詞),因為other是指一群同類事物中的另一些,而不是另一個(another是另一個)。other的一個常見搭配是some.... other...., Some children like milk chocolate, other children prefer plain chocolate.
用other的時候,全集(也即some+other的全部)中的個體應該是3個或以上,如果全集中一共只有兩個個體,那麼其他的就只能是一個,這個時候就不能用other了,要用the other(注意這裡的the other是代詞),於是some...other...就要替換為one... the other..., 例如面前有兩個蘋果,one is for me, the other is for my little brother. 還有The insurance offices were on the other side of the street(街道只可能有兩個side),I spent half my time teaching law and the other half in London as a consultant to a big firm.
另外還是用集合來分析,other並不代表補集,例如Some children like milk chocolate, other children prefer plain chocolate. 那麼這裡的some和other加起來是否就是全集了呢,不一定,我可以把上面句子改寫為Some children like milk chocolate, other children prefer plain chocolate, there are still others who dont like chocolate.
那如何讓other代表補集呢,要加一個the,例如Of all metals, only mercury is liquid and the other metals are solid.
another
another是指同類事物中的另一個(other是另一些),你可以把another看成是an other組合而成的,就理解為何another只能是一個了。當然another後面跟基數詞的話就可以指另外若干個了。
和one...the other相比,前者只能用於兩者之間,one...another則用於三者或三者以上,例如:
- One is blind, another is deaf, and a third is lame. 一個是瞎子,另一個是聾子,又一個是瘸子。
- 例如One person may like to spend his vacation at the seashore, while another may prefer the mountains, while still another may choose a large metropolis. 一個人也許喜歡在海濱度假,而另一個人也許喜歡在山裡度假,還有人也許喜歡在大都市度假。
從集合來講,another只是余集中的一個,other是余集中的一些,the other才是指整個余集。
another做限定詞
做限定詞有兩種用法,一種是後面跟可數名詞單數,例如Could I have another cup of coffee? 一種是後面跟基數詞,再跟可數名詞複數,例如Mary is staying with us for another ten days.
another做代詞
another做代詞,就只能代表一個了。Louise has a house in New York, and another in Florida.
another還有one‥‥another… still another這個常用搭配,和上面的some...other....still others異曲同工:
One person may like to spend his vacation at the seashore, while another may prefer the mountains, while still another may choose a large metropolis. 一個人也許喜歡在海濱度假,而另一個人也許喜歡在山裡度假,還有人也許喜歡在大都市度假。
others
others只能做代詞,所以後面不能跟名詞,除此之外它和other幾乎是一樣的,也即:
- 只能代表複數名詞,從而後面動詞只能用複數。最常用的組合為some....others..... ,例如Some writers are greater than others.
2. others所在的全集中的個體為3個或以上,如果全集一共2個個體,那麼要用the other,前面已講過。
3. 如果全集為3個或以上,這時候想表示另外一個,而不是另外一些,就不能再用others,而要用another,上面也講過了another做代詞的用法。
4. some+others不代表全集,some+the others才代表全集,例如面前一堆彩色積木,some are red, the others are green. 或者one+the others, 例如The bells are carefully installed so that disconnecting one will have no effect on the others.
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