Distinguishing Between A & One in English Grammar

A vs One in English Grammar

A and One in English grammar have a difference between them in terms of their application and usage. A is an article, while One is a number. However, this is not the only difference that exists between the two. This article will focus on the other differences between A and One in English grammar and discuss more about each term to see how people use A and One in the English language.

What does A mean?

A is called the indefinite article. It is used before nouns beginning with any letter other than vowels, namely a, e, i, o, u. That means A is used with consonants. The usage of the word A is as in the words ‘a book,’ ‘a cycle,’ ‘a pencil’ and the like. The word A means a single thing or a person. For example:

– He kept a book on the table.
– She gave a pencil to her son.

In both the sentences mentioned above, the word A means or suggests the meaning single. Single means one. Hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘he kept one book on the table.’ In the same manner, the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘she gave one pencil to her son.’ You will also see that A is used only with singular nouns.

What does One mean?

On the other hand, the word One is chiefly used as a number. One is the half of two. It is the lowest cardinal number. Consider the following sentences:

– He is one of the great artists in the country.
– This is one example.

In both the sentences, the word One is used as a number. In the first sentence, the word One has a peculiar usage. It is followed by the expression ‘of the.’ Thus, the expression ‘of the’ is followed by the subject in plural. The subject in the sentence is ‘great artist.’ Hence, the word ‘great artist’ should be used in the plural form as ‘great artists.’ This is the main observation one has to make in the usage of ‘one of.’ At this point, one is used to single out one person from a group of people. Here, one great artist is singled out from the other great artists.

In the second example, one is again used to indicate a single example. By using the word One here, though the sentence does not contain the phrase ‘one of,’ the listener gets the feeling that there are more examples and this is just one of them.

There is another use of the word One. We use the word One as a pronoun too in the English language. When we are referring to a person or thing that has already been mentioned, we use One. Also, when we are referring to an individual of a specific kind we use the word One. Here are some examples:

– Her emotion moved from one of surprise to one of anger within seconds.
– You are the one who made her cry. You go and apologize.

In the first sentence, we are talking about the emotion of the person from the beginning of the sentence to the end of it. So, because the word emotion is already mentioned and we are talking about it still, the word One is used in the second and third places in the sentence instead of emotion. As a result, the word One in this sentence means that we are talking about the emotion that has already been mentioned.

In the second sentence, the word One is used to mean the person responsible for making this other person cry. From among the other people present this person is specific. So, we use the word One.

What is the difference between A and One in English Grammar?

• Definition of A and One:
• A is one of the indefinite articles in English language.
• One is a number. Sometimes it is used as a pronoun as well.
• Meaning:
• When you use A, you simply mean a single thing.
• When you use One, you mean a single thing. However, when you use One you are implying that there is more of the same thing.
• Grammar Rule:
• A is used with singular nouns that begin with consonants.
• One is used with any singular noun.