Practice
One of them and one of us: grammar patterns
You may be talking about several friends, but you only mean one friend. In that case, one of them and one of us help you name a single member of the group. The important word for the verb is one.
Use one of them and one of us to name a single person or thing from a group, then choose the verb that agrees with one.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
one of us /wʌn əv ʌs/
The short answer
Use one of them or one of us for one person from a known group. Treat one as the subject, so use a singular verb such as is, was, has, or works.
One of us is waiting by the entrance.
Why it works: The subject is one, so the verb is is, not are.
5 more examples
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One of them works at the library.
One is the subject, so works is singular.
Not this:
They workat the library. What changes: They refers to more than one person, so it takes work without s. -
One of us has the meeting link.
The group includes the speaker, but the sentence identifies one member.
Not this:
We havethe meeting link. What changes: We is plural, so the verb is have. -
I recognized one of them from the workshop.
Here the phrase is the object of recognized, not the subject of the sentence.
Not this:
One of them recognizedme from the workshop. What changes: Here the phrase is the subject, and recognized is the past-tense verb. -
One of us was late because of traffic.
Was agrees with one person in the past.
Not this:
We werelate because of traffic. What changes: Were agrees with the plural subject we. -
One of the students who sit near me speaks Spanish.
Who refers to students in this part of the sentence, so the relative-clause verb is plural.
Not this:The only one of the students
who sitsnear me speaks Spanish. What changes: Here who points to the only one, so sits is singular.
Read the full guide
First, find the word before of. In one of them, that word is one. The phrase them tells you which group you mean, but it does not make the subject plural. This is why one of them is ready is standard, while one of them are ready is not standard in this meaning.
Name one person from a group
Use one of them when the group has already been mentioned and does not include you. Use one of us when you are a member of the group. Both phrases point to one person or thing, not to the whole group.
One of them called after lunch.
Them tells us which group the caller belongs to. One tells us how many callers the sentence means.
Which phrase includes the speaker: one of them or one of us?
Use one of us when the speaker is part of the group.
Match the main verb to one
Do not let the plural pronoun them or us choose the main verb. The head word is one, which is singular. Use is, has, does, or a present simple verb ending in s when the phrase is the subject.
One of us needs to leave early.
Needs agrees with one. The word us is inside the of phrase and does not control the main verb.
Choose the correct verb: One of them need or needs help?
Use needs: One of them needs help.
Use the phrase as an object too
One of them and one of us can also receive the action. In that position, another subject controls the verb. Look at the whole sentence before you decide which word agrees with the verb.
The manager thanked one of us.
The manager is the subject, so thanked follows the manager, not one of us.
Who controls the verb in The manager thanked one of them?
The manager controls thanked because one of them is the object.
Ask and answer questions about a group
These phrases are useful when you know the group but do not need to name every member. Ask Which one of them has the key? Then answer with one of them, a name, or another clear description.
Which one of us is responsible for the tickets?
Which one asks for a single choice from the group.
How can you say that a single member of your team knows the answer?
You can say One of us knows the answer.
Check who in a relative clause
A relative clause can make this pattern look harder. In one of the people who live nearby, who refers to people, so use live. In the only one of the people who lives nearby, who refers to the only one, so use lives.
One of the neighbors who work nights is moving away.
Work agrees with neighbors inside the relative clause. Is agrees with one in the main clause.
In one of the people who drive, does who refer to one person or several people?
Who refers to people, so use the plural verb drive.
Before you go
Remember this
Use one of them for one member of another group and one of us for one member of your own group. When the phrase is the subject, one controls the main verb: one is, one has, and one works. In a relative clause, look at the noun that who refers to.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "One of them and one of us: grammar patterns"
Is one of them singular or plural?
One of them is singular when the phrase is the subject because its head word is one. Use a singular verb: One of them works at the library. Them still refers to several people, but it is inside the of phrase and does not control the main verb.
One of them works at the library.
What is the difference between one of them and one of us?
Use one of them for one person from a group that does not include the speaker. Use one of us when the speaker belongs to the group. The grammar pattern stays the same in both phrases: One of us has the meeting link, and one of them has the meeting link.
They work at the library.
Can one of them be the object of a sentence?
Yes. You can use one of them after a verb or preposition when another person does the action. In I recognized one of them from the workshop, I is the subject and one of them is the object. The phrase does not choose the verb in that sentence.
One of us has the meeting link.
Why do I say one of us was instead of one of us were?
Use was when one of us refers to a single person in an ordinary past statement. The word one is singular, so write One of us was late because of traffic. Use were when the subject is we, as in We were late because of traffic.
We have the meeting link.
How do verbs work after one of the people who?
Check what who refers to. In One of the students who sit near me speaks Spanish, who refers to students, so sit is plural. In The only one of the students who sits near me speaks Spanish, who refers to the only one, so sits is singular.
I recognized one of them from the workshop.