one day

one day — idiom

1. used when talking about something you hope or intend to do, believing it will ev

1.慣用語B1
釋義

used when talking about something you hope or intend to do, believing it will eventually happen even though you cannot say exactly when

例句

Manuela dreams that one day she will open a small café in Lisbon.

one day + will + verb for future dream

Hugo says he wants to climb Mount Kilimanjaro one day before he turns forty.

wants to + verb + one day for intention

同義詞
  • someday

    more informal; interchangeable in most future contexts

  • eventually

    stronger implication that it will happen after a long delay, not just possibility

反義詞
  • never

    direct opposite — not at any time, now or in the future

文法句型

one day + future tense clause

用法筆記

Commonly used with will, would, or want to to express future hopes or plans. Often appears at the beginning or end of a sentence.

常見錯誤

One day I went to Paris' (when meaning a past event).
One day I will go to Paris.
💡This sense is only for the future; use the past sense for something that already happened.

2. on a particular but unspecified day in the past, used when telling a story or re

2.慣用語A2
釋義

on a particular but unspecified day in the past, used when telling a story or remembering something that happened at that time

例句

One day last autumn, Jenna found a stray kitten hiding under her car.

one day + time phrase + past tense for storytelling

Hamza remembers one day when his grandfather taught him how to fix a bicycle chain.

同義詞
  • once

    slightly more literary; used in story openings ('Once, there was…')

  • on a certain day

    more formal; implies the day is known to the speaker

文法句型

one day + past tense clause

用法筆記

Often opens a story or anecdote, followed by a clause in the simple past. Can be combined with a time expression (last summer, in March, in 2019) to narrow the reference.

常見錯誤

One day I will find my keys under the sofa.' (when describing a past event).
One day last week I found my keys under the sofa.
💡This sense uses past tense only.