jumsumtak wrote:
1.) X was one of the last Y
2.) X was last one of the Y
In this context, when you want to say that Gregory was among the last few kings, use 1. It is syntactically (idiomatically) correct.
For what you want to say (Gregory was the last and not one of the last) there would be no 'one' mentioned in the sentence. It would have been: .... who was the last xyz king.
With 'one' added, it creates a very awkward structure, having no meaning.
Thank you, jumsumtak, for the response. I apologize as I am replying after a few months of dormancy.
As I see, your second example makes sense if Y is plural.
Here, Pictish Kings means one particular dynasty of rulers. There were many successive rulers who fall under the category "Pictish Kings". It is ok to say "Gregory was last one of the Pictish Kings" (which is intended to convey that "Gregory was the last Pictish King").
There is little difference between meaning of option B and meaning of option C. Option B means Gregory was the last Pictish King and option C means Gregory was one of the last Pictish kings. Following 2 scenarios will clarify the concept.
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Scenario 1: Assuming chronological order of the Pictish Kings was -
Bridei, Ciniod, Alpín, Talorgan, Dubhtolargg, Drest, Conall, Caustantín, Óengus, Drest,
Gregory, Eógan
Here Gregory was not the last Pictish King, but he was among the last two Pictish Kings. In this case, it would be wrong to say "Gregory was the last one of the Pictish kings" (option B), but it would be right to say "Gregory was one of the last Pictish kings" (option C).
Scenario 2: Assuming chronological order of the Pictish Kings was -
Bridei, Ciniod, Alpín, Talorgan, Dubhtolargg, Drest, Conall, Caustantín, Óengus, Drest, Eógan,
GregoryHere Gregory was the last Pictish King and thus he was among the last two Pictish Kings. In this case, it would be right to say "Gregory was the last one of the Pictish kings" as well "Gregory was one of the last Pictish kings".
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Original sentence meant Gregory was the last Pictish King and same thing is conveyed in option B. Option C has a little change of meaning as we cannot get any information on whether Gregory was the last Pictish King or he was last but one Pictish King.
Problem with option B is that the construction "Gregory was the last one of the Pictish kings" is wordy. Economic expression would have been "Gregory was the last Pictish king".
To compare:
Option B: retains meaning (+ point) but wordy (- point)
Option C: changes meaning (- point) though concise (+ point)
IMHO, B wins over C as B retains the meaning and C twists the meaning subtly.
However, considering the OA, it seems style is more important than meaning.