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'one' and 'ones'

Level: beginner

We use one (singular) and ones (plural):

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.

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

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one and ones 2

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Comments

shnx's picture shnx replied on Philippines

hi! Is it grammatically correct to say "The job of the government accountants intrigued me the most as they are said to be THE ONES who manage and monitor public funds, maintain fiscal transparency, and combat white-collar crimes and other fraudulent activities."

Kirk's picture Kirk replied on Spain

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

Melvin1234's picture Melvin1234 replied on Philippines

Hello, I got confused with this sentence.

Those four volcanoes are one of the most active.

Peter M.'s picture Peter M. replied on Poland

Hello Melvin1234,

I'm not surprised you got confused. The sentence is not grammatical.

You could say this:

Those four volcanoes are some of the most active (in the region/in the world etc)

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Illia Zhurakivsky's picture Illia Zhurakivsky replied on Germany

Hi, Is it possible to use one or ones after a numeral?, for instance
London has 3 advantages, Berlin 2 ones and Paris 4 ones

Peter M.'s picture Peter M. replied on Poland

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

19Dd21's picture 19Dd21 replied on Croatia

Hi guys ,

Question...

Is it grammatically correct to say for example?

There is no certainty, only adventure. Hope good one's ahead.

I'm not sure is it possible to short IS to 's in this case and if possible explain me could we always short IS to 's like HE IS five , He's five

Peter M.'s picture Peter M. replied on Poland

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:

I hope a good one's ahead.

I hope there's a good one ahead.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Nanajiman's picture Nanajiman replied on Malaysia

Hello sir,sorry,how to use could and would,thank you

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