Do you need "an" in "I saw an another cat down the alley"?
"another" or "an another"?
No, you should just say, "I saw another cat down the alley". The word "another" developed as a contraction of "an other", and it's ungrammatical to say "an another".
However, mind you that in many dialects, "another" can be in turn split into "a nother" (which has been found as far back as about 1300), with other words being potentially inserted in between (in particular "whole"). It is clear that such is not mere infixation, as in some dialects (such as my own), one can say things like "a completely whole nother" as well.
<<in some dialects (such as my own), one can say things like "a completely whole nother" as well.>>
I've never heard of that before. I kind of like it actually, but in my dialect, "a whole nother" is the only way you can split up 'another', and I suspect it's probably a borrowing.
I've never heard of that before. I kind of like it actually, but in my dialect, "a whole nother" is the only way you can split up 'another', and I suspect it's probably a borrowing.
I think "a whole nother" sounds stupid. We should change it to a "a whole other".
"A whole nother" is likewise what comes naturally to me, but I have heard some people use "a whole other", and that's what I would use if I were writing formally.
>>"A whole nother" is likewise what comes naturally to me, but I have heard some people use "a whole other", and that's what I would use if I were writing formally.<<
Same here - "a whole nother" is what by far the most natural to me in actual speech and is what I normally use while speaking (while "a whole other" sounds quite akward to me when actually said), but I would practically always formally write "a whole other" nonetheless.
Same here - "a whole nother" is what by far the most natural to me in actual speech and is what I normally use while speaking (while "a whole other" sounds quite akward to me when actually said), but I would practically always formally write "a whole other" nonetheless.