0
Langtraveler Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Usage of a pronoun 'one'

Hello.

- We ordered fried fish, but the chef gave us (boiled / boiled one).

The book I have says the answer of the give question is "boiled."
I wonder, however, why "boiled one" cannot be an answer too.
Is that because "fish" is plural here?
Then, could "boiled ones" be correct?

Thank you in advance.
  

Top answer

We ordered fried fish, but the chef gave us boiled. The above is a shortened version of We ordered fried fish, but the chef gave us boiled fish. A native speaker would understand 'fish' in the above to refer to the substance called 'fish'.

— Clive

  • We ordered fried fish, but the chef gave us boiled.
  • The above is a shortened version of We ordered fried fish, but the chef gave us boiled fish.
  • A native speaker would understand 'fish' in the above to refer to the substance called 'fish'.
  • It does not mean a complete fish.
  • For that meaning, you'd say eg We ordered a fried fish, but the chef gave us a boiled one.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

4 Answers
0
We ordered fried fish, but the chef gave us boiled.
The above is a shortened version of
We ordered fried fish, but the chef gave us boiled fish.

A native speaker would understand 'fish' in the above to refer to the substance called 'fish'. It does not mean a complete fish.
For that meaning, you'd say
eg We ordered a fried fish, but the chef gave us a boil
0
0
Thank you for giving detailed explanation.
May I ask one more?
Then, could I consider the "fish" in the sentence as a uncountable noun?
Thank you in advance.
0
0
Yes.
eg We ordered (some) fried fish.
0

Related Questions