TOEIC Link Part 5: another, other, others, and the other

This family of words derails careful readers because the choice depends on two questions at once: is the noun singular or plural, and is the remaining group definite or indefinite? Get either axis wrong and the sentence falls apart. Another candidate, other candidates, the other candidate, and the others each answer those two questions differently. Part 5 likes this cluster precisely because three of the four answer choices will be grammatically real words — only one fits the exact combination the sentence sets up. This guide gives you a reliable way to read both signals before you choose.

The two questions that decide everything

Every time you meet a blank in this family, ask two things in order:

1. Singular or plural? Does the slot need one item or more than one?
2. Definite or indefinite? Are we talking about a specific remaining item the reader can identify, or just "some more"?

The four forms map onto those answers cleanly:

• another — singular + indefinite. One more, unspecified. Please send another copy.
• other — plural + indefinite (used before a noun). Some more, unspecified. We interviewed other candidates too.
• the other — singular + definite. The one specific item that is left. One sample passed; the other failed.
• the others — plural + definite (stands alone). All the remaining items. Two staff stayed; the others went home.

Read those four lines until the pattern feels automatic. Almost every Part 5 question in this area is just testing whether you can locate the noun's number and decide whether the is justified.

"another": one more, not yet specified

Another is literally an + other, and that hidden an tells you two things: it is singular, and it is indefinite. Use it for one additional item drawn from an open, unspecified set.

The shipment was damaged, so the supplier sent another unit. If this approach fails, we will try another method.

Because another contains an, it cannot sit in front of a plural noun: another units is wrong. The one common exception is when a plural is treated as a single block of measurement — another three days, another ten dollars — where the number-plus-noun behaves as one chunk. Outside that quantity idiom, keep another strictly singular. For how singular determiners agree with their verbs downstream, see our guide on subject-verb agreement with intervening phrases.

"other": some more, before a plural or uncountable noun

Other is the plural-and-indefinite partner of another. It modifies a noun directly and points to additional, unspecified members of a group.

We should consider other suppliers before signing. Are there other options available?

Note that other used this way needs a noun after it (other suppliers, other options). It also works in front of uncountable nouns — other equipment, other information — because those, like plurals, are not singular-countable. A frequent distractor is offering another where the noun is plainly plural; spotting the -s on the noun usually settles it.

"the other" and "the others": the definite remainder

Adding the changes the meaning from "some unspecified more" to "the specific rest." Now the set is closed and the reader can identify exactly what is left.

Of the two proposals, one was approved and the other was shelved. (the single remaining one) Three machines are running; the others are under maintenance. (all the rest)

The difference between the other and the others is purely number. The other points to one remaining item; the others points to several. Crucially, the others stands alone as a pronoun — you do not put a noun after it (the others machines is wrong; say the other machines if you want the noun). So when the blank is followed by a noun, you cannot use the others; when it stands alone and refers to several, the others is your answer. This pronoun-versus-determiner split is the same logic that governs choices in our guide on pronoun case selection.

"others": plural pronoun, indefinite

Drop the from the others and you get others — a plural pronoun meaning "some more people or things," unspecified. It stands alone, like the others, but without the definiteness.

Some employees prefer remote work; others prefer the office. This model sold out, but we have others in stock.

The contrast some ... others ... is one of the most testable patterns in the whole family: some opens an indefinite plural set, and others names another indefinite slice of it. If you see some earlier in the sentence and a standalone plural slot later, others is almost always the intended answer.

How Part 5 weaponises the difference

The test rarely defines these words; it builds a sentence whose number and definiteness are clear from context, then offers all four forms and lets a misread cost you the point. Three patterns recur:

• The noun reveals the number. A plural or uncountable noun after the blank kills another and the other, leaving other (indefinite) or forcing the other → the other + noun if the is justified.
• A counting phrase sets up definiteness. Words like of the two, of the three, or an earlier one signal a closed set, which licenses the other / the others.
• "Some" earlier in the sentence strongly pulls toward others as the matching indefinite plural.

Train yourself to answer the two questions — number, then definiteness — before you even look at the choices. The grammar of the surrounding noun and any earlier counting words almost always decides it for you, and the distractors are only tempting if you skip that two-step read. For more on how determiners and quantifiers distribute across a group, our guide on each, every, and all distributive quantifiers covers the neighbouring territory.

Practice the instinct

The fastest way to lock this in is to read the noun first, decide singular or plural, then test whether the is earned by the context. Do that on every item and this four-way choice stops being a guess and becomes a two-question checklist you can run in seconds.