Improve the following sentence by choosing the most appropriate alternative. If no improvement is needed, select the option corresponding to “No improvement”. Sentence: One is often pleased with himself.

Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question examines your knowledge of reflexive pronouns used with the impersonal subject “one”. The original sentence “One is often pleased with himself” uses “himself”, which does not match the impersonal “one” correctly. You must select the reflexive form that agrees with “one” in formal English.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Original sentence: “One is often pleased with himself.”
• Subject: “One” used as an impersonal pronoun to refer to people in general.
• Reflexive pronoun that formally matches “one” is “oneself”.
• The sentence expresses a general truth about human nature: people are often pleased with themselves.

Concept / Approach:
In formal English, when using “one” as a general subject, we should maintain consistency throughout the sentence:

• “One” → “oneself” (reflexive), “one’s” (possessive).

Mixing “one” with “himself”, “herself” or “themselves” is considered inconsistent and ungrammatical in careful, formal writing. Therefore, we need to replace “himself” with “oneself”.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the mismatch between subject and reflexive. The subject is “One”, but the reflexive used is “himself”. They do not belong to the same set of pronouns. Step 2: Recall the correct reflexive pronoun for “one”, which is “oneself”. Step 3: Replace “himself” with “oneself”, keeping the rest of the sentence intact. Step 4: The improved sentence becomes “One is often pleased with oneself.”

Verification / Alternative check:
Read the improved sentence: “One is often pleased with oneself.” In formal English, this is the standard and correct structure. It maintains the same impersonal tone throughout the sentence. If we wanted a less formal variant, we might say “People are often pleased with themselves”, but with “one” as subject, “oneself” is the correct reflexive.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A: “One is often pleased with one’s self.” uses an old fashioned and less common split form “one’s self”. Modern standard English prefers the single word “oneself”.
Option B: “One is often pleased with themselves.” mixes the singular impersonal “one” with the plural reflexive “themselves”, which is inconsistent in formal usage.
Option D: “No improvement” would leave “himself” in place, which does not agree with the pronoun “one” and is therefore incorrect in meticulous grammar.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to use pronouns like “he”, “his”, or “himself” after “one” because we think of a typical person as male, but this is both grammatically inconsistent and stylistically outdated. Another modern tendency is to replace “one” with “they” and “themselves”, which is acceptable in informal style but not in a formal examination context if “one” is already used. To remain consistent, always pair “one” with “oneself” and “one’s”.

Final Answer:
The improved sentence is One is often pleased with oneself.