This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Ann. Here is part of Ann’s question:
Dear Teachers,
I don’t really understand the difference between “remaining,” “remainder” and “rest” when using these words to describe what is left of something.
For example, . . . can I replace “the remaining countries” by “the remain” or “the rest”?
Thank you, Ann.
I’m happy to answer this question, Ann.
English has many words that share the same meaning or that are close in meaning. So, you might wonder why we usually use one word instead of another that is very similar to it.
We often use one word instead of another because of grammar. Let’s look at how this works by considering the last part of your question. You asked:
can I replace “the remaining countries” by “the remain” or “the rest”?
The answer is no. That’s because the word “remain” is a verb, and the term “the rest” is a quantifier. To describe the word “countries,” we need to use an adjective. The -ing ending on the word “remaining” makes it an adjective when we place it before a noun.
If you want to use the words “the rest” to describe a noun, you need to use four words. These four words are “the rest of the.” These four words mean the same thing as the two words “the remaining.” The following example shows this:
The rest of the countries use more land for farming.
Now let’s look at the first part of your question:
I don’t really understand the difference between “remaining,” “remainder” and “rest” when using these words to describe what is left of something.
The word “remainder” is a noun, but when we use it to describe what is left of something, we change it to a quantifier. To do this, we usually say or write the four words “the remainder of the.” In this way, it works the same way as the quantifier “the rest of the.”
However, we use the quantifier “the rest of the” much more often, especially in spoken English, than “the remainder of the.”
Also, you should know that as a noun, “the remainder” is a term used in mathematics. It can mean the decimal fraction that remains when one number is divided by another number that is not one of its factors. For example, six-tenths, or .6, is the remainder when 33 is divided by five. It can also be what is left over from the process of subtraction.
For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? We want to hear from you! Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. And please let us know where you are from, too.
And that’s Ask a Teacher.
I’m Andrew Smith.
Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
factor –n. (math) any of two or more numbers that, when multiplied, produce a product