3.141 using 'one'

With 'be', 'become', 'remain', 'feel', 'look', 'prove', 'seem', and 'sound', you can use a noun group based on 'one' instead of using an adjective on its own as a complement.

The noun group consists of 'a' or 'an' followed by the adjective and 'one', if your subject is singular. For example, instead of saying 'The school is large', you can say 'The school is a large one'.

• The sound is a familiar one.
• The impression the region gives is still a rural one.

If your subject is plural, you can use the adjective followed by 'ones'.

• My memories of a London childhood are happy ones.

Another kind of complement consists of 'one' followed by a prepositional phrase or a relative clause.

• Their story was indeed one of passion.
• The problem is one that always faces a society when it finds itself threatened.