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Could you please help with the following: are both options correct? If so, which one is preferred and why?

Option 1: Our society had been gradually morphing from a very uncivilised one to the society we see these days. (Society is countable here)

Option 2: Our society had been gradually morphing from the very uncivilised to the society we see these days. (Society is uncountable here)

Many thanks!

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  • Both are just fine, but I do not think either is using “society” as a mass noun. The fact that the second option uses the definite article is not a sign that “society” is to be construed as a mass noun. “I saw the dog” does not imply that dogs are not countable.
    – Jeff Morrow
    Jun 3, 2021 at 3:37

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I find more interesting that you have used pro-form in the first sentence, while you used ellipsis in the second one.

"One" in your sentence doesn't mean that you're specifying "Society". One works as a pro-form. It is indefinite pronoun used as a substitute for society.

Both sentences are correct and people would easily get what you're trying to say. From the articles, I would say that in the first sentence, you're referring to any society, while in the second one you're referring to certain society that you have in mind.

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