Timeline for Can we use "you" to refer to a general person?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 4, 2014 at 22:15 | history | edited | Dan Bron | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
correct per Jim's counterexample
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| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:59 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | Would you like me to downvote you? When you say 'X is ungrammatical' and it's not, I'm strongly tempted, believe me. I'll return in 30 minutes to see if you've retracted your wrong information. Your answer has some good points, but digresses from OP's query about whether it is acceptable to substitute 'your' for 'his' here. | |
| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:55 | comment | added | Dan Bron | @EdwinAshworth, yes, of course; but without elucidation of Jim's position or a specific counterexample (which he graciously provided), I'm not in a position to improve my answer, and the best we can do is downvote it as unhelpful. That's fine, so far as it goes, but it ultimately doesn't help MCHam or the next querent who comes along. In other words, it's the difference between "criticism" and "constructive criticism". In any case, given Jim's counterexample, I'm going to delete this answer as wrong (unless there are objections?). | |
| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:36 | comment | added | Dan Bron | @jim, good point, let me mull on it and edit my response | |
| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:33 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | The first sentence is not ungrammatical. It is not Jim's responsibility to say why this is so, it is yours to say why it is not so. Which task I would not undertake. | |
| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:10 | comment | added | Jim | "You should try a session with my trainer, he's got a whole bunch of machines that tone pretty much every muscle you have." "Oh, really? Does he use workout machines that tone your ass?" | |
| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:06 | comment | added | Dan Bron | If you elaborate, I'm happy to edit (or delete) my answer. | |
| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:05 | comment | added | Jim | I disagree that the first statement is ungrammatical. | |
| Aug 4, 2014 at 21:02 | history | answered | Dan Bron | CC BY-SA 3.0 |