Should Ones Have an Apostrophe?

The possessive pronoun “one's” requires an apostrophe before the S, unlike “its,” “hers,” and other personal pronouns. ... The only times “ones” has no apostrophe are when it is being used to mean “examples” or “people” as in “ripe ones” or “loved ones,” or in the informal arithmetical expression “the ones column.”

Can you say ones?

To start, the word "ones" can be plural, as in "I like the red ones." So the plurality isn't a problem. And to many people, it even sounds OK to say “these ones” when you modify the word “ones.”

What is the differences between one and ones?

"One" replaces a countable noun in the singular, and "ones" replaces a countable noun in the plural.

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.