MARCH 25, 2008 | The difference between "different" and "another"
Good question! A lot of people who are learning English get these two words confused. They use another instead of using different and vice-versa. In fact, the two words can be very similar in meaning AND can sometimes be used interchangeably... but not always.
Here are some things to remember about another: 1) It has two primary meanings - It can mean "one more", as in "I'll have another beer." = "I'll have one more beer." It could also mean "some other", in which case it's meaning and usage becomes similar to different: "I would like to try on another (some other) dress." is fairly similar to "I would like to try on a different dress (not this one)."
2) Unlike the word "different", "another" is ALWAYS SINGULAR. The plural form of another is other. You cannot say another people, you have to say other people :)
Here are some things to remember about different: It basically means "distinct" eg. "Give me a different example." (which means that you do not want to hear the same example). If you say "Give me another example" it means "Give me one more example" or "Give me some other example."
As you can see, sometimes the differences between these two words are very subtle - you just have to practice using these words like a native speaker. Here are a couple of examples to get you started :)
He's not like other boys. He's different.
This is not the same situation. It's different.
That's a very different meaning. (NEVER use "very" before "another"!!)
I can't talk now. We'll talk another time.
He's married to another girl now (some other girl)
He's married to a different girl now (not the same one as before)
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