Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. The fine line between formality and stuffiness. kathleen Melville grammar this is absolutely imperative to all students who must write! and we all know, "We must write" in school. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=19569#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=19569#Comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:58:04 GMT Elaine Smith grammar "You" is frequently incorrect in essays because the writer does not actually mean "you." The test is to decide whether the intended meaning matches the word "you." Otherwise, the writer might decide to reword the sentence to avoid being trapped into using either an inaccurate pronoun or a stuffy pronoun. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=19561#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=19561#Comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:25:21 GMT joyce hall grammar One vs You, How about "we." Often it makes sense to use "we: because the writer is talking about people in general, which includes him or herself. For example, "People don't know how to talk about race. We tend to be afraid of making a mistake." Doesn't that sound natural? I think so. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=19495#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=19495#Comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:34:31 GMT John from Lorain grammar "'While one is reading, he should always wear his glasses.' That used to be more acceptable, but now that society is more sensitive about gender bias, mixing pronouns, especially in the same sentence, is not advisable." This is nonsense! There is no such thing as "gender bias." The quoted sentence always has been, is, and always will be perfectly fine. The vast majority of Americans has NO PROBLEM with that sentence. It is only a minority -- a misguided, ill-educated group (mostly on the east and west coasts), influenced by man-hating radical feminists -- who want to get rid of generic pronouns, such as the "he" and "his" found in that sentence. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=17589#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=17589#Comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:53:54 GMT Vision grammar GG. I've always appreciated a simple thank you. Sometimes the words don't come out properly, I'm sure we've all experienced that one. So thanks for the help. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16529#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16529#Comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:49:21 GMT Grammar Girl grammar Thanks for the great reminders that it's important to use "one" when your writing in an academic environment and when you don't want to sound judgmental or make someone feel as if you are talking about them. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16450#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16450#Comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:03:54 GMT Grammar Girl grammar Vision, the first sentence is definitely wrong. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16449#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16449#Comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:02:48 GMT Vision grammar GG, anyone, I went to a restaurant and I forgot the man's name, so I need your help with this sentence: It had to do something about a president. Or. It had to do with something about a president. Does the first one work? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16441#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16441#Comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:26:36 GMT Vision grammar Grammar Girl, I just emailed you but I it my be quicker to receive a response from here. I would like to know if this sentence makes sense: It had to do something about a president. Or It had to do with something about a president. I know the second one works, but does the first one work to? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16426#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16426#Comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:52:57 GMT Richard in NH grammar "One uses the pronoun “one” as an impersonal pronoun that stands for the average person or the sort of person one happens to be concerned with..." Given that this line was in the part of the discussion focused on the more formal approach, shouldn't it have been something like "One uses the pronoun 'one' as an impersonal pronoun that stands for the average person or the sort of person with whom one happens to be concerned..."? Now that I've managed to get that off my chest, I must say that, although I just came across this site, I have already sent the link to several friends. This is a treasure! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16425#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx?commentid=16425#Comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:51:23 GMT Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:58:04 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us