問:Other和another的用法有什麼不同?以下一句,應用other還是another?── China is now the greatest country of producing steel, which is greater than the sum of another / other countries, they are the US, Korea, Japan.
答:這一句文法錯誤不少,可改寫如下:China, now the largest steel-producing country in the world, produces more steel than all other countries(或than the rest of the world)put together, including the US, Korea, and Japan(中國現為世上產鋼最多的國家,比其他國家加起來還要多,包括美國、韓國、日本)。
Other和another的一大分別,在於other指「其他」,所以其後多用複數名詞;another則指「另一個」,所以其後多用單數名詞,例如:I have other books / another book about UFOs(我還有另一些/另一本講不明飛行物體的書)。
當然,other之後,有時可用單數名詞,例如:(1)I have one other(=another)book about UFOs.(2)The other child / children ran away(另一個孩子/其他孩子跑掉了)。這兩句的other之前,或用one,或用the,所以可帶出單數名詞。
至於another,其後假如有three、ten等數量詞,則也可帶出複數名詞,例如:(1)What will Hong Kong be like in another 17 years?(香港再過十七年,會是什麼樣子?)(2)The crowd has swollen by another 50 men or so(人群又增加了五十人左右)。