One (pronoun)
Encyclopedia
One is a pronoun
in the English language
. It is a gender-neutral
, third-person singular (though slightly anomalous, see reflexivity of one below) pronoun, commonly used in English prose. It is equivalent to the French pronoun on (from "homme", French for man), the German man, and the Spanish uno.
case, but (much unlike French on and German man) it can also be used in other cases. It occurs most commonly in sentences in the present simple tense
or conditional
constructions.
Examples of its use:
There is no strong form analogous to hers and yours:
Oneself is anomalous in its inability to refer back to anything other than one:
Multiple Pronouns
Some people find the repetitive use of "one" to be stilted so they will use generic "he":
"One can glean from this whatever he may." OR: One can glean from this whatever one may."
"If one were to look at himself, he would see..." OR: If one were to look at oneself, one would see..."
Either form is considered to be correct in formal English, but the form with "he" is sometimes viewed as sexist. (See Gender neutral pronoun.) To avoid this, and because the thrice repeated "one" in this case can be used to subtly imply that "one" is the listener, and that they are doing something wrong (in the above example, it would imply that the person does not look into some aspect of their own behavior, and that, if they did, they would find some flaw, usually indicated in the continuation of the sentence), the singular they
is often used. For example:
"If one were to look at themself, they would see..."
Many language purists, however, consider singular they to be grammatically incorrect, and would thus discourage its use, especially in writing.
, singular they
, pluralising, you, or circumlocution. In addition, the word one can also be used for inanimate objects, creating possible confusion in careless writing. For example,
The second one may co-refer with the first, or it may refer to a specific rule. (If this sentence were spoken at all, the second one would require distinctive intonation for the second interpretation.)
Monarchs, and today particularly Queen Elizabeth II, are often depicted as using one in this way (see also Majestic plural).
In colloquial speech, the pronoun "one" is usually avoided in favour of the second person plural (i.e., you: "Giving up smoking is like giving yourself an increase in salary.").
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It is a gender-neutral
Gender-neutral pronoun
A gender-neutral pronoun is a pronoun that is not associated with any gender. It designates two distinct grammatical phenomena, the first being pronouns/periphrastics that have been assigned nontraditional meanings in modern times out of a concern for gender equity, and the second being genderless...
, third-person singular (though slightly anomalous, see reflexivity of one below) pronoun, commonly used in English prose. It is equivalent to the French pronoun on (from "homme", French for man), the German man, and the Spanish uno.
Cases and usage
One may be used in the nominativeNominative case
The nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
case, but (much unlike French on and German man) it can also be used in other cases. It occurs most commonly in sentences in the present simple tense
Present tense
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb...
or conditional
Conditional mood
In linguistics, the conditional mood is the inflectional form of the verb used in the independent clause of a conditional sentence to refer to a hypothetical state of affairs, or an uncertain event, that is contingent on another set of circumstances...
constructions.
Examples of its use:
Nominative
- One cannot help but grow older.
- If one were to fail, that would be unfortunate.
Genitive
The genitive, or possessive, form of one is one's, as inThere is no strong form analogous to hers and yours:
* One's is broken (not valid)* I sat on one's (not valid)* I broke one's. (not valid)
Reflexive
A reflexive form oneself appears at times:- To quit smoking is like giving oneself a raise.
Oneself is anomalous in its inability to refer back to anything other than one:
- One exhausts oneself.
* A person exhausts oneself. (not valid)
Possessive
Many English possessive pronouns, such as his, hers, and its, do not contain an apostrophe. One is an exception, because it is made possessive as follows:- One's apostrophes should always be placed correctly.
Multiple Pronouns
Some people find the repetitive use of "one" to be stilted so they will use generic "he":
"One can glean from this whatever he may." OR: One can glean from this whatever one may."
"If one were to look at himself, he would see..." OR: If one were to look at oneself, one would see..."
Either form is considered to be correct in formal English, but the form with "he" is sometimes viewed as sexist. (See Gender neutral pronoun.) To avoid this, and because the thrice repeated "one" in this case can be used to subtly imply that "one" is the listener, and that they are doing something wrong (in the above example, it would imply that the person does not look into some aspect of their own behavior, and that, if they did, they would find some flaw, usually indicated in the continuation of the sentence), the singular they
Singular they
Singular they is the use of they to refer to an entity that is not plural, or not necessarily plural. Though singular they is widespread in everyday English and has a long history of usage, debate continues about its acceptability...
is often used. For example:
"If one were to look at themself, they would see..."
Many language purists, however, consider singular they to be grammatically incorrect, and would thus discourage its use, especially in writing.
Style and rhetoric
In English, one can be considered to be overly formal, and people tend to avoid it. However, in doing so, they encounter problems only resolvable by awkward phrasings or a significant drop in formality. In particular, phrasing a sentence in a gender neutral way may require the passive voicePassive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
, singular they
Singular they
Singular they is the use of they to refer to an entity that is not plural, or not necessarily plural. Though singular they is widespread in everyday English and has a long history of usage, debate continues about its acceptability...
, pluralising, you, or circumlocution. In addition, the word one can also be used for inanimate objects, creating possible confusion in careless writing. For example,
- If one chooses to disobey the rules, one must be dealt with.
The second one may co-refer with the first, or it may refer to a specific rule. (If this sentence were spoken at all, the second one would require distinctive intonation for the second interpretation.)
Monarchs, and today particularly Queen Elizabeth II, are often depicted as using one in this way (see also Majestic plural).
In colloquial speech, the pronoun "one" is usually avoided in favour of the second person plural (i.e., you: "Giving up smoking is like giving yourself an increase in salary.").