One of the ...

Question

If i want to say that something or someone is "one of the best" "one of biggest..." how do i do that.

If for example i wanted to say "she was one of the most important people in the world".

I used to think that saying "una de las mas importantes personas..." would work but i dont know.

Cheers

más - Dakie, Feb 19, 2011

Answer 1

You have it right.

Yes. :) - Dakie, Feb 19, 2011

If it were a "he," would it be something like: "uno de los mas importantes personas?" - since we are on the subject. ;o) - cristalino, Feb 19, 2011

no - aislinn_pr, Feb 19, 2011

The "una" would remain as with the female, yes? - cristalino, Feb 19, 2011

una relates to "persona", so yes. - NancyGrace, Feb 19, 2011

male: uno de los... female: una de las... - Gekkosan, Feb 19, 2011

if it were for example "un escritor", then you would be able to say "Uno de los más importantes escritores". - Dakie, Feb 19, 2011

Answer 2

You can say also, Una de las personas más importantes.

Personas is feminine, so no matter if the person is he or she, you always use "Una de las personas..". For example: Una de las personas más importantes fue el Rey de España (king of Spain). Just an example.

good, but the word is spelled "feminine" :) - NancyGrace, Feb 19, 2011

thanks. Spanish is my first language so I'm still learning English, ;-) - aislinn_pr, Feb 19, 2011

Answer 3

Regarding word order, both options are correct, where "Una de las más importantes personas" is more polite and less frequently used than "Una de las personas más importantes".

In formal Spanish as well as in poetry, there's license to change the order of the adjectives.

¡Qué luna (tan) hermosa tenemos esta noche! is not as poetic as ¡Qué hermosa luna tenemos esta noche!

That's correct. - aislinn_pr, Feb 19, 2011

Answer 4

Yes, but watch the order of the words.

Una de las personas más importantes...

Answer 5

In this particular case the order of the words is important because it isn't a matter of "formal" Spanish. It is one of not being in use as normal everyday speech.

It is like using the form "thee" in everyday language. I repeat, it isn't a matter of being formal but archaic. That's all.