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complete rewording for better clarity
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rhetorician
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There is a movement afoot (actually, the "movement" dates back many years, I suspect) to get rid of the awkward "he/she" paired with "his/her" in favorpairing of "he/she" pairedsupposedly singular words such as someone, anyone, individual, person, ad infinitum with "theirhe/she or his/her and just go with they and their." Instead of

If anyone wants to leave, he or she should feel free to do so,

just say

If anyone wants to leave, they should feel free to do so.

Or, instead of

Somebody made a mess in the kitchen, and he or she knows who he or she is,

just say

Somebody made a mess in the kitchen, and they know who they are.

To be honest, I've had difficulty getting used the less awkward "she"their paired with "theirsupposedly singular words," but I have been trying it of latelately, and no one on this site reprimanded me--at least thus far.

By the way, an interim technique of mine (and I suspect of some other weirdos) is to make the singular word really plural so that the pronoun replacing it has to be plural also. Instead of

Every individual needing a pencil raised his or her hand,

I might use

All those needing a pencil raised their hand.

Or, instead of

Every person here is responsible for his or her own property,

I might use

All people here are responsible for their own property.

Strict grammarians, at one time, may behave been a little inflexible in this regard; loosey-goosey communicators nowadays, on the other hand, not so much. I say, "Go for it, user78655."

Oh, and anyone else so inclined, well, they too should go for it!

There is a movement afoot (actually, the "movement" dates back many years, I suspect) to get rid of the awkward "he/she" paired with "his/her" in favor of "he/she" paired with "their."

I've had difficulty getting used the less awkward "she" paired with "their," but I have been trying it of late and no one on this site reprimanded me--at least thus far.

Strict grammarians may be a little inflexible in this regard; loosey-goosey communicators, on the other hand, not so much. I say, "Go for it, user78655."

Oh, and anyone else so inclined, well, they too should go for it!

There is a movement afoot (actually, the "movement" dates back many years, I suspect) to get rid of the awkward pairing of supposedly singular words such as someone, anyone, individual, person, ad infinitum with he/she or his/her and just go with they and their. Instead of

If anyone wants to leave, he or she should feel free to do so,

just say

If anyone wants to leave, they should feel free to do so.

Or, instead of

Somebody made a mess in the kitchen, and he or she knows who he or she is,

just say

Somebody made a mess in the kitchen, and they know who they are.

To be honest, I've had difficulty getting used the less awkward their paired with supposedly singular words, but I have been trying it lately, and no one on this site reprimanded me--at least thus far.

By the way, an interim technique of mine (and I suspect of some other weirdos) is to make the singular word really plural so that the pronoun replacing it has to be plural also. Instead of

Every individual needing a pencil raised his or her hand,

I might use

All those needing a pencil raised their hand.

Or, instead of

Every person here is responsible for his or her own property,

I might use

All people here are responsible for their own property.

Strict grammarians, at one time, may have been a little inflexible in this regard; loosey-goosey communicators nowadays, on the other hand, not so much. I say, "Go for it, user78655."

Oh, and anyone else so inclined, well, they too should go for it!

Source Link
rhetorician
  • 19.4k
  • 2
  • 28
  • 61

There is a movement afoot (actually, the "movement" dates back many years, I suspect) to get rid of the awkward "he/she" paired with "his/her" in favor of "he/she" paired with "their."

I've had difficulty getting used the less awkward "she" paired with "their," but I have been trying it of late and no one on this site reprimanded me--at least thus far.

Strict grammarians may be a little inflexible in this regard; loosey-goosey communicators, on the other hand, not so much. I say, "Go for it, user78655."

Oh, and anyone else so inclined, well, they too should go for it!