3人称単数代名詞の注意すべき用法として総称的 (generic) な使用がある.Quirk et al. (§§6.20, 21, 56) より3種類を挙げよう.
(1) he who . . . や she who . . . のような後方照応の表現.文語的あるいは古風な響きをもつ.ちなみに,中性の *it that . . . や複数の *they who . . . はなく,各々 what . . . と those who . . . が代用される.
・ He who hesitates is lost. ['The person who . . .'; a proverb]
・ She who must be obeyed. ['The woman who . . .']
(2) 総称的な単数名詞句を受ける形で(前方照応でも後方照応でも),通常のように3人称単数代名詞を用いることができる.
・ Ever since he found a need to communicate, man has been the 'speaking animal'.
・ A: Do you like caviar? B: I've never tasted it.
・ Music is my favourite subject. Is it yours?
(3) one は "people in general" を表わすフォーマルな表現.インフォーマルには you が用いられる.所有格形 one's と再帰形 oneself がある.しばしば実際上話者を指すこともある.
・ I like to dress nicely. It gives one confidence.
・ One would (You'd) think they would run a later bus than that!
・ Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.
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