Word Usage – Why Is ‘Others’ Used Here?

word-usage

During my English test, I wrote the following sentence:

There’re many people in the park. Some are walking; the others are flying kites.

My English teacher says that “the others” is wrong, and the correct word is “others” because “the people in the park” is too broad. Is he right? When should I use “others” instead of “the others”?

Best Answer

Both are grammatically correct, but the meanings are different.

Some are walking: the others are flying kites.

The use of the definite article the others means that all of the people who are not walking are flying their kites: if 70% are walking, the other 30% are flying kites.

Some are walking: others are flying kites.

Without a definite article, others means that some of the people who are not walking are flying their kites: if 70% are walking, 30% or fewer of the people are flying kites.

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