Possession of one...

[thekl0wn]

This came up this morning, and I haven't found a clear answer yet. I've seen this written both ways, but what is the correct possessive form of one? As in saying, "To get on (one's/ones) high horse.

 

[Scott24x7]

One's is possesive. Ones is plural. You can only use "ones" if you are litterally talking about a group of the number "1" that has a lot of "1's" scattered about. Such as:

1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1
1
1

There are a lot of "ones" up there.
It is one's opinion of how many ones to distribute to the masses.


Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[sleipnir214]

It should take the apostrophe. As you said, it's possessive, not plural.





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[traingamer]

With the apostrophe, of course.
One's group of one dollar notes is a pile of ones.
Five ones on the dice are a valid Yahtzee.

Greg
"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." - Winston Churchill

 

[traingamer]

Man, I am slow.

Greg
"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." - Winston Churchill

 

[thekl0wn]

Can "one" be used as a pronoun?

 

[Scott24x7]

Yes

Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[ncotton]

Isn't there a problem with technically Ones and My not being true pronouns as they can not replace the object, as they are not a true determinent in a sentence.

Neil J Cotton
Technical Consultant
Anix Group Ltd

 

[2ffat]

Can "one" be used as a pronoun?

That was the required pronoun in technical writing when I started working a long time ago.

One does not add water to acid! One adds acid to water.

James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
^{I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!}

 

[Thadeus]

Neil,
This is the part of my grammar skills where I look over my shoulder and call out for CajunCenturion to come bail me out...

~Thadeus

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Isn't there a problem with technically Ones and My not being true pronouns as they can not replace the object, as they are not a true determinent in a sentence.
There are several issues wrapped up in that question.

Determiners and pronouns are not the same thing. Determiners are always followed by nouns, whereas most pronouns usually are not followed by other nouns. "One" can be a pronoun, or "one" can be a determiner, but it can't be both at the same time. When "one" is possessive ("one's" - with an apostrohe 's'), then it's a determiner, and not a pronoun, and a noun will follow.

I'm not sure that "my" is ever a pronoun. "My" is almost always a possessive determiner, followed by a noun - whatever it is that is yours. The pronoun for that is "mine".


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[thekl0wn]

CC, I guess where my confusion comes in at is your point about a noun following. Or more correctly, the role of that noun when "one" is used as a determiner.

I hope you follow my thoughts... I have been stuck in the construction world for quite some time, and have only recently reentered the civilized world. It has also been years since I've had a course in the English language. As I'm sure much of my grammar and vocabulary shows!

 

[SantaMufasa]

...and while we're at it:

...a lot of "1's" scattered about...

When refering to plurals, but not referring to either


a) possessives or
b) a contraction of "1 is" (e.g. "1's the correct answer."),

...then you do not use an apostrophe. The correct reference is "1s".

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Or more correctly, the role of that noun when "one" is used as a determiner.
The noun will do whatever a noun normally does in that context.

There is one house on the block that I like - the one painted yellow.
The first 'one' is a determiner to the noun house, but the second 'one' is pronoun for the yellow. In your original post, you ask about "one's high horse". In that case, it's the possessive, so it will have the apostrophe 's', and functions as a determiner to the noun 'horse'.

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[thekl0wn]

==>In your original post, you ask about "one's high horse". In that case, it's the possessive, so it will have the apostrophe 's', and functions as a determiner to the noun 'horse'.

Thanks for the explanation! I guess my confusion came from, in my mind, replacing "one" with "it". The possesive wouldn't use the apostrophe then, and therefore, I was thoroughly confused.

 

[CajunCenturion]

That's understandable. Although a number of common pronouns do not use an apostrophe for the possessive, they are the exception, not the rule. And lots of people seem to have trouble keeping "its" and "it's" straight.


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[thekl0wn]

It's" and "its" come as a habit to me. And not a good habit! I force myself to say it, in my head, as "IT IS" rather than "it's", and that has helped me stray away from the bad habit, mainly because it forces me to take notice.

 

[Thadeus]

John,
If you persist in coming to the rescue, you may need to be re-dubbed CajunCavalry

Warm Regards
~thadeus

 

[ESquared]

The use of

1's

or

1s

is a matter of style and different experts disagree.

[COLOR=black #e0e0e0]For SQL and technical ideas, visit my blog, Squared Thoughts.[/color]

 

[stackdump]

Speaking as an enjuneer (joke), using an apostophe is better IMHO, since it avoids confusion with 1s (1 second).

So one thinks for 1s that when 1s is in a sentence, 1's is 1s equivalent but better alternative (and thus 1's is one's preference).