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New2grammar Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

the one

He opened the duffel bag that he'd been carrying around all day. [the] One I'd assumed held racketball clothes for his game later.

Clearly, there's only one duffel bag. Is 'the' missing from the sentence?

Thanks in advance!
  

Top answer

The author has no prior knowlege of the contents of the duffel bag. In this case, "one" is being used simply to illustrate the anonymity of the duffel bag. "He was wearing a tatter gray suit; one that was obviously a hand-me-down from a father or uncle.

— Anonymous

  • The author has no prior knowlege of the contents of the duffel bag.
  • In this case, "one" is being used simply to illustrate the anonymity of the duffel bag.
  • "He was wearing a tatter gray suit; one that was obviously a hand-me-down from a father or uncle.
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3 Answers
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The author has no prior knowlege of the contents of the duffel bag. In this case, "one" is being used simply to illustrate the anonymity of the duffel bag.

"He was wearing a tatter gray suit; one that was obviously a hand-me-down from a father or uncle.
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the is not missing. The pronoun one without the is taken to have a built-in a.

He opened the duffel bag ... -- one that held ... clothes.
= He opened the duffel bag ... -- a duffel bag that held ... clothes.

That's not to say that you can't have the. But if you add the, you change the meaning.

He o
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Hi,

A small additional comment. Please note that you need a comma, ie

He opened the duffel bag that he'd been carrying around all day, [the] one I'd assumed held racketball clothes for his game later.

Clive
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