Indefinite specific pronoun (один)

The Indefinite Specific Pronoun: один

You already know один as the number "one." But it frequently acts as an indefinite pronoun meaning "a certain." You use it when you have a specific person or object in mind, but you choose not to explicitly name them.

Like any adjective or pronoun, один must agree with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case. For a neuter noun like знакомство (acquaintance), use одно.

When attending networking events, you will often use the verbs знакомить (imperfective) and познакомить (perfective) to introduce people. You introduce someone (accusative) to someone else (с + instrumental). Naturally, один declines to match these cases.

This pronoun even has a plural form: одни (meaning "some" or "a certain group of"). Just like the singular forms, it declines to match the case of the noun.

Because один can mean "one", "alone", or "a certain", context is key. You might even see it playing two different roles in the exact same sentence!

A certain manager came to the meeting alone, and I decided to introduce him to the colleagues.
Один менеджер пришёл на встречу один, и я решил познакомить его с коллегами.