Teacher Discussion Forums

Does 'an other' (or 'an Other' etc) mean quite the same thing as 'another'?

In general, 'an other' DOESN’T mean quite the same thing as 'another' either as an adjective or a pronoun. Except in some cases where ‘an + other’ is written as ‘another’, ‘an other’ & ‘another’ may have the same meaning.

Examples as an adjective:

1. Have another (not the same as "an other") piece of cake.
2. That’s another (not the same as "an other") matter altogether.

Examples as a pronoun:

1. He asked for another (not the same as "an other").
2. Give me another (not the same as "an other").

Examine this example: “My mother is a singer, my sister is an other (or another).” “Other” means “other one, other person”; “another” means “one more, one of the same kind”. In this example, the 2 pronouns convey the same meaning.

I'm not convinced, I'm afraid. The only (!) problem with these "an other" examples is that I can't easily imagine any of them being used, although I grant that the hypothetical meaning is right.

Surely almost everybody would use "Have a different piece of cake"
Or "Have the other piece of cake" or "Have one of the other pieces of cake" and not:

* "Have an other piece of cake"


To be honest "an other" sounds more like something do do with Sartre.

Only 14 BNC results for "an other". Nearly all should be "another" if you ask me,

http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/sa ... y=an+other

apart from the Sartre one (I knew it rang a bell, something to do with alienation? What I know about JPS can be written on a pinhead) and that one about "an other ranks' jacket".