How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the phrase must match the gender of the group being discussed. Use the masculine uno de for masculine groups, but change it to the feminine una de if the group consists of feminine nouns. When you follow the phrase with a noun to say "one of the", you must include the definite article: use uno de los for masculine nouns or una de las for feminine nouns. However, if you use a possessive adjective, such as "my", you must omit the definite article. For example, you would say uno de mis amigos instead of "uno de los mis amigos".
How do you pronounce it?
/uno de/
What mistakes should you avoid?
When referring to objects, remember that gender matters. If the objects you are referring to are feminine, do not use uno de ellos for "one of them".
Did you know?
- When using uno de to describe a person, Spanish speakers may use the phrase uno de los suyos to mean someone who is 'one of their own' or shares the same social class or background.
- The word uno shares a common ancestor with the Russian word один (odin), tracing back to the same Proto-Indo-European root for 'single'.
- While uno de is the standard for 'one of', Spanish speakers often use the phrase uno de los to refer to the most typical or stereotypical example of a group, even if they are not literally counting.
Examples in context
- Es uno de esos.It's one of those.This sentence is useful for using the form uno de.Tatoeba #4779045 by alegarvid, translation #3168214 by CK
- No soy uno de ellos.I'm not one of them.Tatoeba #1684190 by marcelostockle, translation #1670155 by erikspen
- Uno de ellos miente.One of them is lying.Tatoeba #3167792 by Shishir, translation #3166212 by CK
- El presidente es uno de los hombres más poderosos del mundo.The president is one of the most powerful men in the world.
- Ella es una de las mejores profesoras de la universidad.She is one of the best professors at the university.
- Sara es una de las chicas más inteligentes del grupo.Sara is one of the smartest girls in the group.
- Carlos es uno de los chicos más atléticos de la escuela.Carlos is one of the most athletic boys in school.
- uno de los hombres altosOne of the tall men
- 406 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are looking at a shelf of books.
- Lucía¿Cuál de estos libros quieres?Which of these books do you want?
- AlejandroEse es uno de mis favoritos.That is one of my favorites.
- LucíaEs un libro muy bueno, Alejandro.It is a very good book, Alejandro.
- AlejandroSí, me encanta este autor.Yes, I love this author.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, uno, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
