Do you have a son? - Yes I have him/one

[Alexey86]

Hello! If I want to use a pronoun in my response to "Do you have a car?", I can say, "Yes, I have it." But when answering to "Do you have a son?", I can't say, "Yes, I have him." I see only one option: "Yes, I have one." (Suppose I have only one.)

What exactly is wrong with "him" in terms of grammar or semantics?


Side note: I know that just "Yes/Yes, I do" would be more natural in this case.

 

[Alexey86]

You need 'one' for both 'car' and 'son'.

Then, what's wrong with "it"?

 

[Alexey86]

'It' would have as antecedent a car previously mentioned. No such specific car exists.

Do you like ice-ream?
Yes, I like it.

Does it work here?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, because it means all ice-cream. "it" refers to the food sub-group called "ice cream".

 

[Alexey86]

Yes, because it means all ice-cream. "it" refers to the food sub-group called "ice cream".

Do you need a car?
I don't need it.

"One" certainly doesn't fit here. Does "it" work?

 

[GoesStation]

Do you need a car?
I don't need it.

[STRIKE]"One" certainly doesn't fit here[/STRIKE]. Does "it" work?

No. You should say No, I don't need one.

 

[emsr2d2]

The correct word would be "one". Sorry! Of course, the natural answer would be "No", or "No, I don't".

 

[Alexey86]

No. You should say No, I don't need one.

So, "it" in such cases goes only with previously mentioned specified countable nouns and uncountable nouns referring to things in their wholeness, right?

One more question: would "that" work here (No, I don't need that.)?

 

[emsr2d2]

If you are asking if "No, I don't need that" works after "Do you need a car?", the answer is no.

 

[Tdol]

Yes, I do would be the most natural answer to me.

 

[emsr2d2]

You're just going to have to take our word for it! The following are various questions and possible answers covering most of what you've asked us about.

Q - Do you have a car?
A1 - Yes.
A2 - No.
A3 - Yes, I do.
A4 - No, I don't.
A5 - Yes, I have one.
A6 - No, I don't have one.

Q: Do you need a car?
A1 - Yes.
A2 - No.
A3 - Yes, I do.
A4 - No, I don't.
A5 - Yes, I need one.
A6 - No, I don't need one.

Q: Do you want an icecream?
A1 - Yes.
A2 - No.
A3 - Yes, I do.
A4 - No, I don't.
A5 - Yes, I want one.
A6 - No, I don't want one.

Perhaps the mistake you're making is thinking of the word "one" in terms of exact numbers, like "two" and "three" etc. That's not how it's being used there. It's used simply to avoid repeating the indefinite article and the noun in the reply.

Q - Do you want an icecream?
A - Yes, I'd love an icecream! (Grammatically correct but unnecessary repetition of the article and the noun.)
A - Yes, I'd love one! (Grammatically correct, neater and shorter.)

Of course, someone might jokingly respond to that question with "Yes, I'll have six!" in which case, "six" really does mean the number!

 

[Alexey86]

So, "it" in such cases goes only with previously mentioned specified countable nouns and uncountable nouns referring to things in their wholeness, right?

Is "them" grammatically correct after previously mentioned unspecified countable nouns?

Do you like dogs? - Yes, I like them. (I'm aware of the unnaturalness of this reply.)

 

[Tarheel]

Abe: Do you want some ice cream?
Bob: Well, I didn't before I read this thread. Now it's all I can think about.
;-)

 

[emsr2d2]

Is "them" grammatically correct after previously mentioned unspecified countable nouns?

Do you like dogs? - Yes, I like them. (I'm aware of the unnaturalness of this reply.)

Yes. The use of "them" there is absolutely correct.

I'm not sure what you meant by "unspecified countable nouns". "Dogs" is quite specific! You could be more specific, I suppose, and ask "Do you like corgis?" The answer would be the same.

 

[Tarheel]

Is "them" grammatically correct with previously mentioned unspecified countable nouns?

Do you like dogs? - Yes, I like them. (I'm aware of the unnaturalness of this reply.)

Quinn: Do you like dogs?
Abe: Yes, I do.

 

[Tarheel]

Is "them" grammatically correct after previously mentioned unspecified countable nouns?

Do you like dogs? - Yes, I like them. (I'm aware of the unnaturalness of this reply.)

I had an argument with myself about that one. At first I said, "That works." Then I deleted that. I both won and lost that argument.

 

[Alexey86]

I'm not sure what you meant by "unspecified countable nouns.

Do you like dogs? (in general/unspecified) - Yes, I like them.
Do you like the dogs? (these particular/specified) - Yes, I like them.

The same can be applied to uncountable nouns:

Do you like the ice-cream (this particular)/ice-cream (in general)? - Yes, I like it.

 

[Alexey86]

It would be better for your English if you concentrated on natural constructions rather than worrying about whether less natural constructions are grammatically acceptable.

In this case I'm particularly interested in grammar.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm not sure what you meant by "unspecified countable nouns". "Dogs" is quite specific!

No, that's not what Alexey means by 'specific'.

Alexey—you can't use it to replace singular indefinite noun phrases. You have to use one.

You can use it to replace a singular noun phrase with a definite article and a singular noun phrase with a zero article, but not one with an indefinite article.

You can use them to replace a plural noun phrase with a definite article and a plural noun phrase with a zero article.

 

[Alexey86]

You can use them to replace a plural noun phrase with a definite article and a plural noun phrase with a zero article.

Can I use both them and ones to replace indefinite plural noun phrases? I'll try to come up with a context in which the full answer sounds more natural:

- Where are you going?
- To the store.
- Buy some pencils for yourself.
- I don't need them/ones.

And by the way, if it's possible to explain briefly, why "a zero article", not "the zero article"? I'm asking because I always use "the" with "article" in such context.