Those ones

[Ed Keer]

I got a request to settle a grammar question today
about the use of "those (exact) ones". My friends
husband grew up in Oklahoma and was told to never use
"ones" with "those". He gave her a hard time about the
phrase "those exact ones". I have never heard of this
prescriptive rule, but I must admit that "those ones"
by itself sounds pretty bad to me. However, with an
adjective it sounds fine. The following are my
judgements:

I like these cars much better than those ones. (not so
good)

I like these cars much better than those. (good)

But

I like these green cars much better than those red
ones. (good)

I like these green cars much better than those red.
(not so good)


That said, Jespersen In his 1933 Essentials of English
Grammar states: "The secondary combined with "one" is
very often an adjective...The secondary may also be a
pronoun." And then he gives the following example:

You must get some other clothes-those ones aren't fit
to be seen.

Does anyone share these judgements? Has anyone heard
this precriptive rule?

Ed

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