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Andrew Bayles
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Professional linguist here.
To say that we can't pluralize "one" is ridiculous. If I show you two pairs of shoes, one of which is red and the other blue, and then I ask, "Which do you like better?" there's no way around saying "the blue ones" or "the red ones." The idea that "these ones" and "those ones" is any different doesn't make any sense logically.
It's just like saying that you can NEVER end a sentence with a preposition, which, as Winston Churchill has made clear, is something "up with which [we] shall not put." Artificial rules imposed upon the English language don't make it more beautiful; they make it more restricted, less expressive, and ultimately more ridiculous.
These ones? Those ones?
Eric writes: I was wondering if it is grammatically incorrect to use "these ones" or "those ones" when answering someone who just asked me a question like.. "which ones are done?" or "which of those still need to be wrapped?" It seems to me that if it's ok to say "this one" or "that one" that "th...
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Jul 23, 2013
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