[Grammar] One - impersonal pronoun

[Fear not only believe]

Hello, I have a question.

Take for example this sentence: One should always bear in mind that 1)______ 2)are/is not responsible for the things that had happened before 3)_____, but 4)_____ is/are responsible for 5)______ future.


Which of these three options fits best, and is there an impossible one(s)?

a) 1) they 2)are 3)them 4)they 5)are 6)their

b) 1)one 2)is 3)one 4)one 5) one's

c) 1)he or she 2) 3)him or her 4) he or she 5) his or her

If I were to decide, I'd choose a).

Thanks!

 

[emsr2d2]

What do you think the right answers are?

 

[Fear not only believe]

Whom are you asking that question? If I am to answer it, then "If I were to decide, I'd choose a)." (the last sentence from my post).
I put "we" instead of "one" in my essay, but I'd really like to know whether there are some other options.

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry, I missed your last sentence!

a) is incorrect. Given the title of your post, try again.

 

[Fear not only believe]

Alright, then b)?

 

[emsr2d2]

b is correct.

One should always bear in mind that one is not responsible for the things that had happened before one, but one is/are responsible for one's future.

 

[Fear not only believe]

Thank you. This article confused me a bit: http://www.grammarbank.com/impersonal-pronouns.html
"In the sentence below we can use he / he or she / they instead of the "one" in the main clause.

If one wants to succeed, one should study hard.
If one wants to succeed, he should study hard.
If one wants to succeed, he or she should study hard.
If one wants to succeed, they should study hard."

So, it's only possible to replace "one" with "they", "he or she" when the impersonal subject (one) is mentioned two times (and not more), that is, in case of somewhat simpler sentences than mine was?

 

[emsr2d2]

If a sentence starts by using "one" as the impersonal pronoun, it should continue to use "one".

If one wants to succeed, one should study hard.
If you want to succeed, you should study hard.

You can use "he/she" or "they" if you start with "someone" or "a person".

I someone wants to succeed, he/she should study hard.
If someone wants to succeed, they should study hard.
If a person wants to succeed, he/she should study hard.
If a person wants to succeed, they should study hard.

Note that there are some people who still dislike the use of the word "they" to indicate the singular impersonal pronoun.

 

[Fear not only believe]

So, the article was wrong? Or does it just come down to BrE vs AmE again (as with "I wish I would)?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Fear not, to which article do you refer?

 

[emsr2d2]

The article in the link in post #7.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

The part under the heading 'Attention' is definitely wrong in BrE, and I'm pretty sure I remember a post from MNY that makes me think it's wrong in AmE too.

 

[Tdol]

Thank you. This article confused me a bit: http://www.grammarbank.com/impersonal-pronouns.html
"In the sentence below we can use he / he or she / they instead of the "one" in the main clause.

If one wants to succeed, one should study hard.
If one wants to succeed, he should study hard.
If one wants to succeed, he or she should study hard.
If one wants to succeed, they should study hard."

I think this is wrong; at least in BrE, you should continue using one if you start with it. People sometimes do forget when speaking, but that doesn't make it right.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The article is wrong in AmE also.