Today’s blog will deal with the nuances of grammar. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Take a look at the following sentences.<\/p>\n
1.\tI should always think of others before I think of myself.
\n2.\tYou should always think of others before you think of yourself.
\n3.\tHe should always think of others before he thinks of himself.<\/p>\n
In formal papers, you are not always allowed to use first or second pronouns.That leaves third person, sentence, but in singular, third person is problematic because it specifies gender. In an attempt to avoid this, the error of using third person plural in such situations has crept into modern English.<\/p>\n
4.\tA person should always think of others before they think of themselves.<\/p>\n
The error in this case, is that the antecedent \u201ca person\u201d is singular and therefore cannot correspond to the pronouns \u2018they\u2019 and \u2018themselves\u2019. One way to get rid of this gender issue, is to make use of the word \u2018one\u2019.<\/p>\n
5.\tOne should always think of others before one thinks of oneself.<\/p>\n
The word \u2018one\u2019 may act as an indefinite pronoun in the English language. It is a gender-neutral, third-person singular pronoun. One is most often used as a subject (nominative case) but can also be used as an object (one) and possessive (one\u2019s).<\/p>\n
Subject (nominative case):
\n\u2022\tOne cannot help thinking the worst of him.
\nDirect object (objective case):
\n\u2022\tToo much study makes one drowsy
\nPossessive case:
\n\u2022\tThere is no place like one\u2019s own home.<\/p>\n
Reflexive form:
\n\u2022 To love God is to secure oneself for eternity.
\nAs an indefinite pronoun, \u2018one\u2019 functions in an impersonal, objective manner. It stands for the writer, for all people who are like the writer, for the average person, or for all people who belong to a certain class. In the United States, \u2018one\u2019 is sometimes perceived to have a literary or pretentious feel to it; the more it is used, the more pretentious it feels. In the United States, \u2018one\u2019 is often replaced by \u2018you\u2019, as we will discuss in the next two lessons. In Britain the use of the indefinite or generic \u2018one\u2019 is commonplace and carries no such stigma. For example,
\n\u2022\tOne [you] would think the end of the world had come.
\n\u2022\tThe speaker was awful; one [you] felt embarrassed for him.<\/p>\n
Let us take this particular form of one of the Commandments:
\na.\tOne should honor one\u2019s parents.
\nIt is a sentence which makes correct use of the indefinite pronoun \u2018one\u2019. Some may find it a bit stilted. In an attempt to make it less stilted, two variations have been proposed and accepted as proper grammar in America (but not in Britain, Canada, or any other country that uses British grammar). Either
\nb.\tOne should honor his parents
\nor the more gender neutral,
\nc.\tOne should honor his or her parents.<\/p>\n
Constructions b and c are considered proper grammar in America. Both aim to lessen the formality of the one\/one\u2019s construction. In either case, much as both b and c are accepted usage, neither is grammatically correct. Grammatical correctness requires that the indefinite pronoun \u2018one\u2019 be consistently used throughout the sentence. This is not the case in either b or c. \u2018One\u2019 is indefinite, and \u2018he\u2019 is definite. The two cannot grammatically (or logically) refer to the same person in the same sentence.<\/p>\n
Though we yield to accepted usage of the times, we discourage you from slipping into the habit of letting your pronouns and antecedents get out of sync with each other. (Cicero and Harvey both would turn in their graves at the mere mention of the possibility.) The proper form is, \u201cOne loves one\u2019s friends\u201d even if it sounds less stilted to say, \u201cOne loves his friends\u201d.
\nWe encourage you to read through Dickens, Austen, Trollope, and other British writers of the nineteenth century, whose writings are replete with the indefinite pronoun \u2018one\u2019. What you will find is that it is used sparingly (only one or two instances per page), and that any form of \u2018one\u2019 (one, one\u2019s, oneself) is rarely used more than once in the same sentence. Here are a few examples from Jane Austen:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tA fortnight\u2019s acquaintance is certainly very little. One cannot know what a man really is by the end of a fortnight.
\n\u2022\tNo one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with.
\n\u2022\tIt is difficult indeed\u2014it is distressing. One does not know what to think.
\n\u2022\tI beg your pardon; one knows exactly what to think.
\n\u2022\tShe is the sort of woman whom one cannot regard with too much deference.
\n\u2022\tOne may be continually abusive without saying anything just; but one cannot always be laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.
\n\u2022\tOne should avoid pretentious and useless words.<\/p>\n
For you as a writer, grammatical and stylistic consistency is of first importance. Whatever tone you choose to write in, you need to use it consistently and correctly. You may choose to use \u2018I\u2019, \u2018you\u2019, \u2018he\u2019, \u2018one\u2019, or \u2018a person\u2019 when you refer to someone in a paragraph, but be consistent. The fact that some people are too thickheaded to grasp, for example, that \u2018anyone\u2019 is singular, as the \u2018one\u2019 in it plainly denotes, does not oblige those who know better to tolerate \u201canyone can do as they please.\u201d The correct form is, of course, \u201canyone may do as he pleases,\u201d but in America, in informal usage, \u2018can\u2019 has pretty much replaced \u2018may\u2019 in this sense, and there is nothing more to be done about it; but we cannot and must not let \u201cone\u201d become plural. That way madness lies.
\n~ Geoffrey Nunberg<\/p>\n
In other words, Mr. Nunberg is warning against the odious construction, \u201cOne should honor their parents\u201d. That construction violates not only the indefinite\/definite pronoun issue, it also has a singular subject referred to in the plural. But then, no student well schooled in grammar would commit that atrocity, except as a momentary lapse.<\/p>\n
Example<\/p>\n
Rewrite the sentence by substituting the appropriate noun or pronoun for \u2018one\u2019:<\/p>\n
One should have one\u2019s own protractor if one is a geometry student.<\/p>\n
Basically we take every instance of a form of the word, \u2018one\u2019, and choose to write it as \u2018a person\u2019 with the accompanying appropriate pronoun \u2018he\u2019 instead. A person should have his own protractor if he is a geometry student. Now, revise again to eliminate any agreement problems and any awkward or wordy constructions. In this case, since both men and women may be geometry students, some may prefer to rewrite this in a simpler construction that avoids all gender references.<\/p>\n
A geometry student should own a protractor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today’s blog will deal with the nuances of grammar. \ud83d\ude42 Take a look at the following sentences. 1. I should always think of others before I think of myself. 2. You should always think of others before you think of … Continue reading