Are both sentences correct?

[kohyoongliat]

1. His pronunciation is better than the others'.
2. His pronunciation is better than that of the others.

Are both sentences correct?
Is the singular of other's others'?

Thank you in advance.

[Anglika]

It's an abbreviation for: "other pupils/people/learners", and has become plural to reflect that.

If your sentence referred only to two people, then "other" would also be singular.

[kohyoongliat]

Hi Anglika

I made a blunder. It should be Is the plural (not singular) of other's others'?

I'm referring to, let's say, five people. Now I cannot find others' in my dictionaries. I wonder if such a word exists. I referred to authoritative websites, but cannot find the word.

Could you please try and let me know whether you can find others' in any website?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards

[Anglika]

Cambridge Dictionaries:

others
pronoun
1 additional ones:
I only know about this book, but there might be others (= other books).

2 people in general, not including yourself:
You shouldn't expect others to do your work for you.

MSN Encarta:

5. pron oth·ers other people or things: other people or things ( takes a plural verb )
Others may think differently.
Put the others in the drawer.



Also : references in Fowler:

Search Results for "others"

Hope this helps to set your mind at rest!

[kohyoongliat]

Hi Anglika

His pronunciation is better than the others'.
I have no problem with others. (without apostrophe)
But I can't find the word others' (with apostrophe) in the above sentence.
This is why I wonder if the sentence is correct. If it isn't, then IMO, it should be rephrased as follows:

His pronunciation is better than that of the others.

Do you agree? Or is the sentence awkward?

Thanks.

[Anglika]

I see your problem. The original sentence is fully "His pronunciation is better than the others' [pronunciation (understood)]" - it is correct.

However, your suggestion is good, and sounds fluent.

[kohyoongliat]

Thanks, Anglika. but can you tell me why I cannot find the word others' in all my dictionaries. If you check the website, you can only find other's.

I'm very confused. Can I conclude that there is no such word as others'.

I would be very grateful if you could tell me the website which has others' within the sentences.

Thank you very much for your guidance and patience.

[Anglika]

Unfortunately, punctuation is not recognised as a character in searching on the internet, so it is not much use trying to find examples that way. All I can say is that the possessive "others' " is an acceptable form.

This is from the Univ. of Calgary's site:
In phrases using the pronoun "other," form the possessive by following the general rule for nouns. Form the singular possessive with apostrophe s and the plural with an apostrophe.
Examples: each other's letters one another's houses

the others' reports [the reports of the others]

[kohyoongliat]

Thanks, Anglika, for your explanation.

Best wishes

[Casiopea]

This is from the Univ. of Calgary's site:
In phrases using the pronoun "other," form the possessive by following the general rule for nouns. Form the singular possessive with apostrophe s and the plural with an apostrophe.
Examples: each other's letters one another's houses

the others' reports [the reports of the others]

My university.