"the other people"

[jctgf]

can i say?

"I'll buy it right now before than [the] other people do it."

thanks,
jc

 

[jamiep]

"I'll buy it right now before anyone else does"

 

[BobK]

can i say?

"I'll buy it right now before than [the] other people do it."

thanks,
jc

As jamiep implied, the 'than' is wrong - so don't be misled by the Portuguese; many languages have two or three words for the relationship that English refers to with a simple 'before'.

b

 

[jctgf]

hi,

"other people" is never possible in this question, right?

thanks,
jc

 

[BobK]

Not impossible, just unusual - we'd normallly just say 'others'. You only specify people when you want to emphasize their individuality or their interests: 'You ought to share your toys. There's only one Wendy house, so after you've had your turn you must let other people have theirs.'

b

 

[Wuisi]

can i say?

"I'll buy it right now before than [the] other people do it."

thanks,
jc

I'm not a native speaker, but I think you should have a clear idea of whom the others, the other people and other people are in context.
-'The other people' makes a distinction between two groups of peole: you, on the one hand and 'the other people' (probably a particular group previously referred to). I think you can also use 'the others' as a pronoun here.
-'Other people' doesn't make that distinction, it refers to anybody else.
However, I cannot tell you much about real usage.

 

[jctgf]

hi,

does "I'll buy it right now before the others do it." sound natural?

thanks,
jc

 

[Wuisi]

I'd drop 'it'. The rest is a question of who 'the others' are.