If you’re reading this, you’ve probably stumbled over “others” paired with a participle in a sentence—like you’re staring at a grammar riddle that just won’t click. And hey, if you’re also an “others” supplier (that’s me, by the way—been navigating the tricky balance of plural pronoun use and part-time grammar geekery for years), you know this isn’t just a classroom nitpick. It shows up in catalog descriptions, email pitches, even client checklists, and one misstep can make your whole message feel messy, not intentional. Others
Let’s start with the basics, no stuffy grammar textbook jargon: a participle is just a verb form that acts like an adjective. The two big ones you’ll see are present participles (ending in -ing, like “working” or “sourcing”) and past participles (ending in -ed, like “curated” or “tested”). “Others” is a plural pronoun that refers to other people, groups, or items in the same category. The problem most people run into? Matching the participle to what “others” is describing—and trust me, I’ve been there. Last year, I sent out a product update that said “Our top kits are curated; others are sitting in our warehouse waiting to ship.” My team flagged it, and I spent 20 minutes reworking it before I realized I’d mixed up how “others” links to the participle.
Here’s the most common mix-up to avoid: when you use a participle with “others,” you have to make sure it’s clear who or what is performing (for present participles) or receiving (for past participles) that action. If you skip that, readers might think the participle is describing you, the supplier, instead of the “others” you’re talking about. Let’s break down examples, because that’s where it actually clicks.
First, present participles (the -ing ones). These show an action happening right now or ongoing. When you pair “others” with a present participle, you’re saying the “others” are doing that action. The key here is the participle has to make sense coming from “others”—not from you. Bad example I used to mess up: “We prioritize fast shipping for our key clients, others waiting 2+ weeks for custom orders.” Wait, who’s waiting? The clients? The orders? Reading that, I got an email from a client asking if their custom order was stuck, and that’s how I knew it was off. The fix? Make the action clear for “others”: “We prioritize fast shipping for our key clients; others are waiting 2+ weeks for custom orders.” Now it’s obvious the “others” (other clients) are the ones waiting. That small tweak fixed so much confusion in our follow-up emails.
Another present participle example that works for supplier chatter, which is what this blog is for. Let’s say I’m talking about product lead times, which is a big one for anyone in my line of work: “Our standard stock items ship in 3 business days, while others sit in pre-production until component shipments arrive.” Perfect here. The present participle “sit” is an action the “others” (the non-stock items) are doing, so no ambiguity. I use this line all the time when pitching to new buyers—they get exactly what the difference in timeline is, no head-scratching required.
Now, past participles (the -ed ones, mostly). These are trickier because they often link to a passive action—meaning something else is doing the action to the “others.” The mistake here is often dangling the past participle, so it’s not clear what’s modified. Let’s stick to supplier-specific examples, since that’s our lane. Bad example: “We have two product lines: top-rated eco-goods, others sold to regional retailers at discounted rates.” Wait, the past participle here? “sold” is a past participle, but where does it land? The “others” are the ones sold, but the way it’s phrased makes it feel like the supplier is the one being sold. That’s not just grammar wrong—it’s weirdly off-brand for a supplier. Fix it by tying the participle directly to “others”: “We have two product lines: top-rated eco-goods, and others are sold to regional retailers at discounted rates.” Now “others” is clearly the subject of the passive action “are sold.” Way clearer, and it avoids that awkward misread.
I’ve also seen past participles misused when listing items, which is super common for suppliers. Let’s say I’m updating a catalog: “Our A-grade hardware is pre-inspected, others marked down for minor cosmetic scratches.” The past participle here is “marked down,” but the way it’s placed makes it sound like the “others” were marked down by who? Me, the supplier? Maybe, but it’s vague. Better: “Our A-grade hardware is pre-inspected; others are marked down for minor cosmetic scratches.” Yep, same fix—explicitly link the participle to “others” so there’s no confusion about who’s doing what. Even small clarity like that makes buyers trust you more, right? Because you’re not hiding anything in fine print, you’re just saying what is.
Wait, let’s talk about trickier ones, because sometimes “others” is a noun, not a pronoun? Wait, no—usually when it’s paired with a participle, it’s a pronoun, but sometimes people add an adjective after, like “the others” or “other suppliers” (that’s a noun phrase). Let’s test that. If I’m talking about competitors, something we all deal with as suppliers: “We cut our lead times by 20% last quarter, other suppliers still adhering to 2021 production timelines.” Wait, that’s a participial phrase here—“still adhering to 2021 timelines” is modifying “other suppliers.” Is that okay? Let me check. Yeah, that works because the participle “adhering” is clearly tied to “other suppliers” right before it. I actually used that line in a tradeshow pitch last month, and three buyers pulled me aside to say that’s exactly why they were switching to us. Wait, but hold on—don’t overdo that, right? If you stick the participle too far from “others,” it gets messy. Like: “We cut our lead times by 20% last quarter, other suppliers in our industry adhering to 2021 timelines.” No, that’s fine, but if it’s super separated? “We cut our lead times by 20% last quarter, while other suppliers, who have supply chain delays, adhering to 2021 timelines.” No, that’s wrong—needs a verb there. So the takeaway for “other suppliers” (as a noun) is keep the participle close, and make sure it’s an action the “others” are doing.
Another real-life mistake I made when first starting out as a supplier: when listing products on our website, I had a line that said “Our full-range bundles ship free, others with limited stock require a $5 handling fee.” The participle here is “with limited stock” but it feels like it’s describing the “others” but it’s not a full participle? Wait, no—let’s rework that. The correct way: “Our full-range bundles ship free; others with limited stock require a $5 handling fee.” Wait, but if I wanted to use a true participle, maybe “others being held in limited stock require a $5 handling fee.” Oh, right! “being held” is a present participle in passive form, and that’s perfect here because it directly ties to “others.” That line went up on our site, and customer support told us the number of questions about handling fees dropped by 70% in a month. Small change, big win.
Let’s also talk about when “others” refers to people, not products—because a lot of supplier communication is about teams, client points of contact, etc. Last month, I sent an update to our sales team: “I’m wrapping up the key client accounts, others covering regional accounts can reach me if they need help with lead times.” That’s present participle “covering,” tied directly to “others” (other sales reps on the team). Perfect, no confusion. If I’d messed it up: “I’m wrapping up key client accounts, others covering regional accounts can reach me.” Wait, is that okay? Maybe, but adding “the” before “others” makes it more clear—“the others covering” so you don’t have to guess if I’m talking about specific other reps or just any others. That’s a small tip I picked up: using “the others” makes the subject more explicit when you’re talking about a specific group, which is almost always the case in business communication.
Now, a common grammar myth I’ve heard a lot from other suppliers (and even some clients) is that you can’t use a participle with “others” in a sentence unless it’s super formal. No way—business communication is casual, we’re busy, we don’t have time for fancy stuff. The only rule is: make sure the participle clearly modifies “others.” If you can read the sentence out loud and not have to pause to figure out who or what the participle is describing, you’re good.
Let’s run through a few more supplier-specific examples to drill this home, because that’s what matters most. No generic grammar examples, this is for people who supply parts, goods, services, whatever.
- (Good) “Our bulk raw materials are sourced from local mills; others imported from overseas have longer lead times.” Past participle “imported” clearly describes “others” (other materials). No confusion.
- (Bad) “We offer 10% off first orders for new buyers, others returning clients get a different deal.” Wait, where’s the participle here? Let’s add one to make it relevant: “We offer 10% off first orders for new buyers, others returning clients are offered loyalty discounts.” There we go—past participle “offered” tied to “others.” The bad version was missing a participle link, so it felt disjointed.
- (Good) “Our team is processing custom orders this week, others focusing on restocking standard SKUs are wrapping up ahead of schedule.” Present participles “processing” and “focusing” both clearly tied to their respective subjects, so it’s a smooth update for internal or client use.
- (Bad) “The equipment we tested for durability works great, others not tested yet need further screening.” The past participle “tested” is stuck on the wrong subject—makes it sound like the equipment isn’t tested, not the “others.” Fix: “The equipment we tested for durability works great; others not yet tested need further screening.” Bam, now the participle is on “others,” which is what you want.
Here’s the takeaway I want you to walk away with, especially if you’re a fellow supplier (hi, same boat): this isn’t grammar for grammar’s sake. It’s clarity for sales, for client communication, for internal updates. When you get this right, buyers don’t second-guess your lead times, your pricing, your product details. They trust you, because you’re saying what you mean, no hidden clauses or confusing lines. I’ve had so many potential clients pass after a first email that had a messy “others” + participle sentence—they thought I was unorganized, even if that wasn’t true. Fixing those lines turned those leads into deals, no exaggeration.
So next time you’re drafting a product catalog, an update to a client, a tradeshow pitch, whatever—stop before you hit send and check: when “others” is paired with a participle, is the participle clearly linked to “others”? If it’s a present participle (-ing), make sure “others” is doing that action. If it’s a past participle (-ed), make sure “others” is the one that the action is being done to. And if you’re not sure, add a comma and a clear subject link—like “; others are [participle]” instead of squeezing it in.
At the end of the day, I started this blog because I’m tired of suppliers messing this up and losing deals over small, fixable mistakes. If you’re a buyer looking for a reliable partner, or a fellow supplier wanting to tweak your communication, I’m here. No stuffy grammar lectures, just real tips from someone who’s made every single mistake I’ve talked about here.
If you have questions about how to frame this in your product listings, or want to run a sentence by me before you send it to a client, feel free to reach out to discuss your needs. No hard sell, just a fellow supplier helping other folks get their message right.
KYN28 Medium Voltage Switchgear References
- Celce-Murcia, M., & Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course. Heinle & Heinle.
- Swan, M. (2005). Practical English Usage (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman.
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