Tagged Questions

1
vote
0answers
29 views

Addressing someone with no specified gender [duplicate]

How do you address someone whose gender is not specified, when you are writing something? Take this as an example: The teacher said we should go, ____ said we are good pupils. Would you insert ...
-2
votes
1answer
95 views

Singular or plural pronoun for an antecedent of the form “A, B, or C”?

The number, gender, and person of a pronoun must match its closest antecedent. Most style manuals advise using a singular possessive pronoun when the antecedent is a disjunctive set of singular nouns: ...
0
votes
1answer
275 views

“These stuff” vs. “this stuff” [closed]

I wrote “I know all these stuff; I don’t have to go over them again” in my writing-exam paper and the teacher corrected it to read, “I know all this stuff; I don’t have to go over it again.” The ...
3
votes
2answers
3k views

'Him or herself' v. 'himself or herself'?

I was reading this article on the New York Times. This sentence caused me some confusion: But what I’m teaching are topics such as 5th-century Indian theories of logical inference, or the ...
3
votes
3answers
389 views

She/he to refer a user [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun? Can the feminine pronouns be gender-neutral? Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views

Can their be used as a singular possessive pronoun? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”? I am attempting to help wordsmith a fundraising appeal. A member of the committee reviewing ...
1
vote
2answers
160 views

Which pronoun should be used with “anyone”? “They” or “you”?

Sample sentence: If anyone has the files, could (they or you) please upload them to a file-hosting website? Context: I am writing an email to a group of people requesting that if anyone has the files ...
14
votes
6answers
564 views

Using both “one’s” and “their” to refer to the same entity

Consider this example: Sustainability management in large organisations is an important activity that helps to achieve one’s business goals while at the same time reducing their environmental ...
0
votes
0answers
36 views

'Their' singular or plural? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)? 'Their' is a third person plural; however, ...
0
votes
2answers
103 views

Which pronoun to to replace single antecedent?

This is my all-time question. This time, I was writing specifications of my application and came up with this question. Which one of the following is more commonly used than the others? Note that I'm ...
1
vote
0answers
30 views

Incorporating indirect third person pronouns [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)? I am sure this has been asked before, I ...
3
votes
1answer
247 views

What's the right possessive pronoun for “nobody”? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)? None as plural indefinite pronoun Should ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views

Is it appropriate to refer to a person of unknown sex by “it”?

I would like to treat a user as a non-gender noun and refer to it with the gender-neutral pronoun, it. E.g., The user defines two variables, x and y. It then multiplies each variable by a prime ...
2
votes
3answers
337 views

Can the feminine pronouns be gender-neutral? [closed]

I know this sounds weird but I've been noticing a lot of texts on the Internet like this one: "Any citizen is concerned with her well-being ...". The word in question is "her". To me it seems like in ...
2
votes
3answers
606 views

Is the singular “they” acceptable in formal writing? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)? I am linking to this post for reference. ...
0
votes
1answer
291 views

Genderless pronoun? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)? I remember reading that "their" is third ...
1
vote
1answer
280 views

Third person equivalent of “yours” and “mine” [closed]

What is the third person equivalent of yours or mine? For example, It's not your book; you should take yours. It's not my book; I should take mine. It's not his book; he should take X.
5
votes
4answers
1k views

Gender neutral reflexive pronoun — equivalent to “himself” and “herself”

How would you refer to a gender neutral subject with a reflexive pronoun? It is unbelievable how a perpetrator will cast oneself in the role of victim. That does not seem right. Is there a ...
0
votes
2answers
100 views

Gender question [duplicate]

Possible Duplicates: Speaking about someone of unknown gender… Gender neutral pronoun I'm writing a paper about markets and mention several times providers and their offers. The ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views

Is using “he” for a gender-neutral third-person correct?

I know there are different opinions on this issue. My question: Is using "he" for a general, gender-neutral third person still in common use for formal writing? By common use I mean, can I expect my ...
2
votes
2answers
509 views

Speaking about someone of unknown gender [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Gender neutral pronoun For example, user clicked the button. I don't know if the user is male or female, what gender should I use? Now I read a book, where the user is ...
4
votes
2answers
795 views

What are the most popular gender-neutral pronouns that aren't the same as other contemporary pronouns?

There have been attempts to use other contemporary English pronouns to stand-in as a true gender-neutral pronoun, given that English is lacking a commonly-accepted one for adult humans (non-humans and ...
6
votes
3answers
814 views

Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun?

There are some questions on gender-neutral pronouns both here and on Writers. User Christine Letts writes: In academia, there is currently a movement toward using the feminine pronoun at all ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views

Anyone: (“they” or “he/she”) why is it sometimes plural? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”? Plural versus singular: Anyone can learn to dance if they want to. Anyone can ...
3
votes
2answers
162 views

Is the formation “[s]he” overly distracting?

Does the use of "[s]he" as a gender-neutral pronoun prompt eye-rolling in the reader or is it generally accepted? I know it cannot be pronounced, but it seems to me a helpful contraction in written ...
1
vote
0answers
164 views

How to take the gender of an anonymous person into consideration? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Gender neutral pronoun Very often, I find myself writing about a user, an anonymous person whose gender I don't know. Right after mentioning this abstract user, I need ...
2
votes
3answers
236 views

Use of they as singular [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”? I, and many people I have heard, occasionally use 'they' and 'their' in the singular when ...
6
votes
2answers
260 views

Why are “he”, “she”, and “it” distinct in the singular, but all “they” in the plural?

Other languages have gender-specific third-person plural pronouns (e.g., ellos and ellas in Spanish). English does not, despite the masculine/feminine/neuter distinction being obligatory in the ...
2
votes
1answer
583 views

Using 'they' for person of unknown sex [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Gender neutral pronoun. In everyday use, I often use the pronoun "they" to refer to a unknown person if I do not know their sex. As in: Bob: Who was it that emailed ...
2
votes
3answers
734 views

Can “his/her” be replaced by “his”?

Yesterday, I asked this question on Web Apps: If a Facebook user dies, what happens to the account? Actually, I wanted to ask it this way: If a Facebook user dies, what happens to ...
5
votes
4answers
5k views

Should I use “his/her” or “its”? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicates: Gender neutral pronoun Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”? I am writing a software documentation. I have this issue: I am ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views

Why haven't we used “it” instead of “he or she”?

There is a related discussion on this forum. My questions is different. I'm all for gender awareness, but why hasn't a properly defined pronoun "it" been used instead of "he/she" or "he or she", etc. ...
26
votes
6answers
19k views

Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”?

Is this sentence grammatically correct? Anyone who loves the English language should have a copy of this book in their bookcase. or should it be: Anyone who loves the English language should ...