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| Arup Roy, Lecturer in English Language & Literature, Kanchkura University College, Uttarkhan, Airport, Dhaka |
Being an impersonal pronoun, "one" generates a more formal sound. As it is an impersonal pronoun, it stands for a person. As "one" is third person singular number, we cannot replace "one" with "you" because "you" is the second person.
Similarly, if you use "you" at the
beginning of the sentence, "you" should not be replaced by
"one", "she", "it" or "them" because
they all are third person, be it singular or plural.
Incorrect: One should do their duty.
Incorrect: One should do your duty.
Correct: One should do one's duty.
Correct: One should do his/her duty.
Incorrect: One should follow your heart.
Incorrect: One should follow their heart.
Correct: One should follow one's heart.
Correct: One should follow his/her heart.
Incorrect: One should always keep faith in
yourselves.
Incorrect: One should always keep faith in
yourselves.
Correct: One should always keep faith in
oneself.
Correct: One should always keep faith in
himself/herself.