Do i use "An" or A"

@layman,

""There ain't no rules."

Of course, being a double negative and all......

@layman,

layman wrote:

While on the topic of rules as they apply to articles, let me ask another question about something that has always confused me:

Is the word "another" the same as "an other?" If so, is there some rule governing the practice of just omitting spaces and cramming words together?

I do not think they are the same...but use "an other" in a sentence...and we can take a look at it. I cannot think of one right now.

1 Reply

@Pearlylustre,

Pearlylustre wrote:

Your reply doesn't really make any sense and Lordy's response is perfect. Bye from me also.

Who cares where you and Lordyaswas go? You are more slaves of sentiment than men of reason. Thank you for saying goodbye.

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@Frank Apisa,

Quote:

I do not think they are the same...but use "an other" in a sentence...and we can take a look at it. I cannot think of one right now.

Actually, I already did that in the original post. I said I had "another question." Couldn't I have said "an other (a different) question?"

1 Reply

@Lordyaswas,

Quote:

Of course, being a double negative and all......

Lawdy, are you suggesting that the double negative makes it a positive? I'm not so sure. Consider this:

My english professor was lecturing class the other day. He said: "In English, a double negative forms a positive. However, in some languages, such as Russian, a double negative remains a negative. But there isn't a single language, not one, in which a double positive can express a negative."

Then the wise guy sitting next to me said: "Yeah, right."

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@layman,

layman wrote:

Quote:
I do not think they are the same...but use "an other" in a sentence...and we can take a look at it. I cannot think of one right now.

Actually, I already did that in the original post. I said I had "another question." Couldn't I have said "an other (a different) question?"

Layman...written as "let me ask you an other question" makes no sense to me.

Originally, you wrote: "...let me ask you another question"...which makes sense.

I think "an other" is simply wrong stylistically.

You may find others here who disagree.

In that case, we will have another issue upon which we disagree...not, we will have an other issue upon which we disagree.

3 Replies

@Frank Apisa,

Fair enough, Frank, but I see style as being different from meaning.

Quote:

I think "an other" is simply wrong stylistically.

"Style" is a separate question from what "makes sense," isn't it? I would certainly agree that it's not the standard "style."

Given your perception of what "makes sense" what would the phrase "an other" mean, standing alone? Nothing?

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@Frank Apisa,

Quote:

In that case, we will have another issue upon which we disagree...not, we will have an other issue upon which we disagree.

I'm too stupid to see the difference. I guess I should take lessons from someone like Winston Churchill:

“From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.” (Churchill)

Edit: Actually, I thought your two examples were intended to be different on the basis of a different order of the words "upon" and "which." I see now that that wasn't the case. Oh, well, I still likes Winny's determination about the matter.

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@Frank Apisa,

How about this, Frank?

Q. Was he the same guy?

A. No, he was an other kinda guy.

2 Replies

@layman,

layman wrote:

How about this, Frank?

Q. Was he the same guy?

A. No, he was an other kinda guy.

That is a stretch.

"No, he was a different guy" is the non-stretch version.

Use "an other" if you want...I've said what I think.

You might want to take a look at this thread of mine from a while back.

http://able2know.org/topic/127624-1

2 Replies

@Frank Apisa,

And you might want to read the remark here:

http://able2know.org/topic/266996-5#post-5885654

Perhaps you ought to ask him, since he is using it.

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@layman,

I'm agreeing with Frank on this one. I can't think of a situation where I'd use 'an other' rather then 'another' or 'a different'. That doesn't mean there isn't a situation. I'd be interested to see examples.

1 Reply

@Frank Apisa,

Quote:

http://able2know.org/topic/127624-1

In one of the posts in that thread, M-W is cited as giving this word a 1909 origin and indicates that it's derivation is from "alteration (from misdivision of another) of other, adjective"

Nother may be a misdivision of "another." So, by that same token, another may be a miscombination of "an other," know what I'm sayin?

Q. Were there many others present?

A. No, just an (one) other.

1 Reply

@Pearlylustre,

Quote:

I can't think of a situation where I'd use 'an other' rather then 'another' or 'a different'.

Well, sure, these days. But, when you think about it, an other could mean "a different," couldn't it? Maybe not.

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@layman,

I suppose this whole question has an otherworldliness about it, eh? There someone goes again, mashing words together.

1 Reply

@layman,

When I was at university I certainly heard other/the other used a lot in this context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other. Not so much 'an other'. Though according to the same wikipedia page Rimbaud said "Je est un autre" (I is an other). But he was a poet and I wouldn't recommend using it in everyday conversation.

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@Pearlylustre,

Just for the hell of it, I decided to see what the experts said:

Quote:

Origin: Middle English: as an other until the 16th century

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/another?searchDictCode=all

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@Pearlylustre,

A bit of the other could be variously noetic , poetic and zoetic.

And an ekename, a nekename and a nickname.

A otherwise is ok.

0 Replies

Do i use "An" or A"

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