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Liusu
The other and other. Which one of the two is correct? How are the other members in your team doing? How are other members in your team doing? You can't do this to others. You can't do this to the others? Thank you!
Apr 8, 2016 9:38 AM
Answers · 3
2
All are correct. The first two are roughly equivalent, but to me the first is a bit more natural. The second two mean something slightly different. In the second two, the difference is the usual meaning of 'the' - i.e. 'the others' are a group of people who have previously been defined or identified. 'others' is more general.
April 8, 2016
1
Bear in mind that using the definite article 'the' always defines a SPECIFIC and known thing or set of things. So: the other members = specific = all the other members of the team other members = non-specific = some/any of the other members of the team Likewise 'others' means other people in general, while 'the others' refers to a particular group of people. Both the speaker and the listener know what group of people 'the others' refers to - for example, the others in your family, your class, your team or your workplace. I hope that makes sense.
April 8, 2016
1
The first two are both correct and have almost identical meanings. To me "the others" might slightly infer the rest of the team as a whole but not necessarily, while "others" might slightly imply that your are asking how the rest of the team is doing individually, but again not necessarily. But they both are referring to the same specific group of others- those in your team so technically they mean the same thing. I agree that the first sentence sounds more natural. In the second example, "others" refers to other people in general, which could be anyone. "The others" however is referring to a specific group of others, one in which you likely belong.
April 8, 2016
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