Using otro, otra, otros, otras to say another/another one, other, others (indefinite pronouns)

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Spanish otro, otra, otros, otras

In Spanish, to say another / another one or other / others we use the indefinite pronoun otro.

As a pronoun, it refers to a noun that has been mentioned before.

It agrees in gender and number with the previously-mentioned noun:

Indefinite Pronoun 

Masculine Feminine

Singular 

otro
another
otra
another

Plural

otros
other

otras
other

Have a look and listen to the following examples:

No me gusta ese bolso de piel. Prefiero otro.I don't like that leather handbag. I prefer another one.

La silla de madera está rota. Puedes sentarte en esta otra.The wooden chair is broken. You can sit on this other one.

Tus amigos están todos lejos. Tienes que buscar otros.Your friends are all far away. You need to look for [some] other ones.

El gato ha arañado las cortinas. Necesito comprar otras.The cat has scratched the curtains. I need to buy others.

Be careful! A very common mistake is to add un or una in front of otro/otra:

-¿Quieres otro vino? -Sí, por favor, otro.
-¿Quieres otro vino? -Sí, por favor, un otro.
-Would you like another [glass of] wine? -Yes, please, another one.

We also use otros in the masculine plural form to refer to other people in general or others, even if we haven't mentioned them before.

For example:

Mis ideas no coinciden con otros casi nunca.
My ideas hardly ever coincide with [those of] others.

 

See also Using otro, otra, otros, otras to say another, other (indefinite adjectives)

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Examples and resources

No me gusta ese bolso de piel. Prefiero otro.I don't like that leather handbag. I prefer another one.
El gato ha arañado las cortinas. Necesito comprar otras.The cat has scratched the curtains. I need to buy others.
Tus amigos están todos lejos. Tienes que buscar otros.Your friends are all far away. You need to look for [some] other ones.
La silla de madera está rota. Puedes sentarte en esta otra.The wooden chair is broken. You can sit on this other one.
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