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Just at this moment, she (an elephant) fell back into the river. If she were carried down, it would be certain death. I knew, as well as she did, that there was one spot where she could get up the bank, but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf.

From what I have learned, "other" doesn't correlate with "from".

Is it possible to rephrase it as:

it was on the other side than where...

It was on the different side from where ...

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    No, it isn't. It's true that other usually goes with than, but here the sense is 'the spot was not on the side of the river where she had put her calf, but on the other side'. The writer could have used opposite instead.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 25, 2022 at 10:33

3 Answers 3

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The example is correct, and your suggested correction using than is grammatically incorrect.

It's from + where that go together. This has nothing to do with the use of "other side", or the often used collocation "other than".

The where here is being used to refer to the place her calf is currently located. From where could be reworded as from the location that

Some other examples:

I couldn't see him from where I was sitting.

The post office was 5 miles from where I was staying.

From where I was standing in the crowd, I couldn't hear what she said.

The elephant was on the opposite river bank from where he was standing.

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  • Is the sentence correct if I drop "side": It is on the side of the bank from where she had put her calf.
    – ForOU
    Commented Jun 25, 2022 at 12:00
  • @Robbyzhu - the original example sentence is correct. Nothing needs to be changed, and no you can't remove "side".
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Jun 25, 2022 at 12:07
  • Thank you. I was trying to understand what licensed the "from" phrase. It seems "from" has something to do with "other", because the sentence wouldn't be valid without it. They do not qualify as a collocation though
    – ForOU
    Commented Jun 25, 2022 at 12:18
  • The "from" has nothing to do with "other" here. Sorry.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Jun 25, 2022 at 12:23
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    @Robbyzhu. It would perhaps make it simpler to understand if you replaced "other" with another relevant word such as "far" or "opposite". (See Kate Bunting's comment.)
    – PPH
    Commented Jun 25, 2022 at 12:45
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The preposition "from" is used in many situations one of which is:

used to show the place where someone or something starts moving or traveling
(Cambridge Dictionary; emphasis from me)

The text you have quoted is correct as it is.

... it was on the other side from where she had put her calf.

(= ... it was on the other side from where she had started.)

I don't think either of the ways you have rephrased the text is correct.

Here is a Google Ngram:

enter image description here

And Google search results:

"the other side from where" 583,000
"the other side than where" 9,450

As you see, the form with "than" is non-existent in Google Ngrams and has a frequency of less than 0.2% of the form with "from" on Google search results.

I think we can safely conclude that the sentence as it is is perfectly correct and the alternatives suggested are not.

Note: I find @BillyKerr's answer succinct and to the point and have upvoted it.

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Yes it is possible, but the current sentence is perfectly fine and need not be rephrased. The "from" does not really go with "other", but shows "where she had put her calf".

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