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Ziya
What's the Spanish for the generic pronoun 'one'
In English we use 'one' or 'you' as a generic pronoun, although 'one' now sounds stuffy. (One/You should eat a big breakfast and a small dinner.) In Spanish, what would we use for the modern everyday equivalent?
May 1, 2020 9:48 AM
Answers · 14
3
Is the same case as in English.
One=Uno
You=Tú
Uno debe comer un desayuno grande y una pequeña cena.
O
Tú debes desayunar bien y cenar poco
(Tú) is more common nowadays, but (Uno) is still very normal and popular.
May 1, 2020
2
Non-native speaker here: The third person singular reflexive is often used:
Se dice = it is said
Se come = people eat
From Spanishdict.com:
¿Se come bien en este restaurante? Do people eat well in this restaurant?
¿Se come bien en este restaurante? Is the food good in this restaurant?
May 1, 2020
1
"One" as a subject can be translated as ( el que/quien ) ( uno) ( se )
El que / quien come bien, vive mejor.
Uno no sabe lo que vendrá.
Se requiere mucha ayuda.
May 1, 2020
Thanks, Bill. I'm sure I'll eventually get there in my course book but for now is the construct in point 3 used as a passive or is there also a passive voice in Spanish?
May 2, 2020
Other folks have mentioned all the common alternatives that I know about:
1. Using "uno", equivalent to using "one" in English
2. Using "tú" or "usted", equivalent to using "you" in English
3. Using an impersonal "se" construction, which is the pronoun "se" plus a verb in third-person singular verb, with no other expressed or implied subject
May 2, 2020
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Ziya
Language Skills
Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Turkish
Learning Language
Spanish
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