Level: beginner
We use one (singular) and ones (plural):
- after an adjective:
See those two girls? Helen is the tall one and Jane is the short one.
Which is your car, the red one or the blue one?
My trousers are torn. I need some new ones.
- after the:
See those two girls? Helen is the one on the left.
Let's look at the photographs – the ones you took in Paris.
after which in questions:
You can borrow a book. Which one do you want?
Which ones are yours?
- one and ones 1
- one and ones 2
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Hello! Could you please confirm that I can use “ones” with plural-only nouns like “clothes”? An example sentence: “Most people cite a desire to show off their clothes as a reason for buying new ones.” Does this sentence work without “ones”?
Hello dana_anika,
Yes, that's absolutely fine. Well done!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter, can I use "the ones who know ..." without "the" like in "ones who know or ones knowing ..." ? Thank you in advance.
Hello sambilal,
If I understand your question correctly, the answer is no. But if you'd like to post a complete sentence -- ideally with some context -- we can let you know for sure.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hello!
Could you please clarify the following:
Are both options possible?
1. Which flowers do you want? These or those?
2. Which car is yours? This or that?
Is it possible ti omit "one" and "ones" in these examples?
Thank you so much for your constant support in learning English and I'm grateful for your answer to this post beforehand!!!
Hello howtosay_,
1. Both are possible. When used together in the same context, 'these' generally refers to things closer to the speaker and 'those' refers to things further away.
2. The same is true here. It's really context dependent.
We usually say 'this one' and 'that one' rather than just 'this' and 'that'. The plural forms are often used without 'ones', but you can also say 'these ones' and 'those ones'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Sir ,
What’s the difference between ones and once ?
Hello g-ssan,
'once' is an adverb that means 'one time', e.g. 'How many times have you seen Star Wars? -- Just once.'
As explained above, 'ones' is a pronoun.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Sir, I would like to know about the difference between a and one.
If I have one brother and sister, should I use a or one.Please explain me Sir.
Hello JameK,
Most of the time we use 'a'.
We use 'one' when we want to emphasise that we are not talking about two or more. In other words, we use 'one' when the number is important for some reason. For example, if someone else has been talking about having two brothers then I might use 'one' in order to contrast my family with theirs. You might also think of a situation where someone is offering you something. For example, a friend is offering me some biscuits but I'm not very hungry so I say 'OK, I'll have one' to show that I don't want more than that. It's very much dependent on the context and the speaker's intention.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you Sir.
Sir i have a small doubt, is it correct if we say i have got two books, which one do you want ? Instead of i have two books , which ones do you want ? When we want him to take only one out ot two , And if is incorrect then what will be correct sentence ?
Hi rajk,
Yes, right! It should be "Which one do you want?".
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ahmed Imam,
The pronoun 'one' has no plural form but the word can be used as a pro-form, which means a word which can substitute for another word in particular contexts to avoid repetition. With this use a possessive form would be possible, though it would be an extremely rare occurrence requiring a very unusual context. For example:
The correct form for plural nouns ending in s is s' [Four dogs' tails].
When a singular noun ends in s you can use s's or s' [Thomas's toy / Thomas' toy].
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Ahmed Imam,
One is the best answer here. Him is grammatically correct, but only suitable if the speaker is referring to a person who is male, e.g., talking about how to raise a son (specifically a son, rather than a daughter). One is not limited to only male persons.
But using one is typical of a very formal style. A more common way to say this would be (Your) parents know what is best for you.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Samin,
The correct plural forms are loaves and shelves.
You can use any online dictionary to check the plural forms of nouns:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loaf
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shelf
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raf,
That is true for some words, but there are many words that end in 'f' that have a regular plural ending. For example: 'roof' ('roofs'), 'belief' ('beliefs') and 'chef' ('chefs').
It's a good idea to check the spelling in a dictionary when you have any doubt.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello shnx,
Yes, 'the ones' is used correctly in this sentence. I'd suggest putting a comma after 'the most' and before 'as' -- when 'as' means 'because', we generally put a comma before it.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Melvin1234,
I'm not surprised you got confused. The sentence is not grammatical.
You could say this:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Illia Zhurakivsky,
One is a pronoun and we don't use pronouns after numbers. So, just as we don't say 'three theys' or 'four yous', so we don't use 'one' after numbers.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi 19Dd21,
There's no problem with the contraction of is, but the sentence is not grammatical for other reasons. You could say something like this:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Nanajiman,
That's a very general question! You can explore the use of modal verbs of different kinds on our modal verbs pages:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/modal-verbs
If you have any specific questions then we'll be happy try to answer them, of course.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello TCGopal,
Both forms are possible here.
There are many items; one of them helps us and this distinguishes it from the others.
A similar construction would be this:
Only one child has red hair.
There are many items which help us and the speaker is talking about one of them.
A similar construction would be this
A number of children have red hair.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello marcinpagi111
It's not correct to use 'the' here. I would recommend that you use 'ones'. Although it is possible to omit it, most of the time it would be included.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello joshuadipal,
We do not need to use one or ones after every adjective. We use them when we need to avoid repeating a noun or when we want to distinguish between items within a particular set (i.e. saying this one not that one).
One is often optional if the context is sufficiently clear. For example:
Both of your sentences about the Nile are fine, but the first is more natural-sounding because the context makes the use of 'one' unnecessary.
In your second example, the second 'one' can also be omitted as it is clear that the second adjective refers to the same kind of item as the first:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello EvenPhteven,
The phrases 'these ones' and 'those ones' are perfectly fine. For example:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Jude
Both sentences are grammatically correct but mean different things. What is the idea that you want to express here? The first one would suggest a score of 1 on a scale of numbers, for example 1 to 10. The second suggests he is the one chosen to do or be something.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sNjay PursNani
Yes, it is. Well done!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rhyna,
We would not say 'two ones'. We would most likely say just 'two', but 'two of them' is also possible.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rhyna,
Yes, you are right. Both parts should be phrased as questions:
Can I use... or should I use... ?
Well done!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Abfalter Cristian,
In English, adjectives are not used to substitute nouns in the way they are in some other languages. I don't know Romanian, but in Spanish, for example, using an adjective in this way is common.
So in the first sentence, the best thing is to use 'one' in both gaps. You might be able to find examples where this rule is not followed, but in general I would not recommend it.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team