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For instance, if I wanna write: one should not be judgmental if they don't know the truth. Is this correct?

I found this structure e.g. One is said to communicate successfully when he or she is able to express what he or she feels is a bit redundant, I have to repeat he or she all the time.

So, what pronoun should I use in order to refer the previous ONE when I'm writing in the way in the example sentence?

Angyang
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    Other possibilities: "One should not be judgmental if one does't know the truth" and "You should not be judgmental if you don't know the truth". The latter is more common nowadays, I think. – GEdgar Feb 16 '20 at 13:16
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    This has been a quandary for English speakers and writers for ages. There is no simple answer, since the discussion can quickly devolve into a political/emotional battle. – Hot Licks Feb 16 '20 at 13:42
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    One should obviously continue with the same pronoun one started with. It just sounds daft to randomly switch to "singular they", in contexts like One shouldn't pick their nose in public. – FumbleFingers Feb 16 '20 at 14:54
  • If it's a pronoun, then use it. One should not have to resort to using 'they' or 'you' when one means oneself. They and you can be used for non-specific indefinites, and are more common in speech than one is. But one has its own forms and they can be used like any pronoun's forms: he, him, his, himself; one, one's, oneself. – John Lawler Feb 16 '20 at 19:37
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    Please do not write wanna when you mean want to. It makes you seem uneducated and disrespectful. – tchrist Feb 17 '20 at 01:29
  • @JohnLawler There is an interesting little conversation going on at Why is this habitual sentence wrong?, which I feel would benefit from your professional input. I wonder if you would be so kind as to take a look, John. – WS2 Feb 17 '20 at 13:28
  • @tchrist I'm glad you said that and not me. I fear I would have been taken for some patronising British snob. – WS2 Feb 17 '20 at 18:19

2 Answers2

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"ONE" is an Impersonal pronoun and Indefinite pronoun. As Wikipedia has it ,this is gender neutral and for purpose of verb agreement it is a third person singular pronoun although sometimes used with first or second person reference. It can have ' one' or 'he' or "Singular They" as its referential. Since use of "one" is dated, and "He" has a generic overtone, in objective and possessive case, now-a-days singular THEY with plural verb agreement is preferred.

So all your sentences are correct. Take this example.

  • Taking advantage of delay in answering and editing, one in his/ her/one's/ their /earnestness has down voted my answer.
Barid Baran Acharya
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One, in that context seems to me to be an attributive, and given it refers to an individual person this would also make it a placeholder for a name. So an Adjective i guess. I see how it also is the noun, where "One" is refering to a person who is subjectively involved in a way that is not quite the same as saying " Any person...".

So imagine you are writing rules for a holy order of oracles, whom are all female, then you can use she and her.

Ryan Eyestone
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    Additionally, he/him can be used in place of always including she and her. This in recent years has been attacked, but historically is the practice. If anyone gives you trouble doing that you could try saying " Women are worthy of the extra attention, while males are generally simple." – Ryan Eyestone Feb 16 '20 at 13:20
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    "WHO all female", not "whom"! – user247327 Feb 16 '20 at 13:22
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    @RyanEyestone: It is historically the practice in American English, but not British, where repeating one has always been normal. Reading one ... he is still disconcerting to me. – Colin Fine Feb 16 '20 at 15:16
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    @ColinFine Surely it is disconcerting to careful writers everywhere. – tchrist Feb 16 '20 at 15:50
  • This answer is purely opinion. Answers should be backed up with references to reputable sources. – CJ Dennis Feb 16 '20 at 23:22