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Here's part of a sentence:

a person's self image and their behavior...

Is it correct to use their in that situation? Or should it be his or her? This is from an older essay from university, so the grammar has to be okay.

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  • "so the grammar has to okay" Do you mean. This is an essay from university so you think the grammar is correct, or that you need to make sure the grammar is correct.
    – Att Righ
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 0:59
  • Gender-neutral "their" is fine
    – BillJ
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 7:53

1 Answer 1

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In formal writing, you must use "his or her" when referring to a singular noun. "Their" must refer to a plural noun.

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  • To make this sentence correct, you could write "A person's self image and behavior ..." or "A person's self image and his or her behavior ..." To know which one is better, I would need context.
    – Megan Walsh
    Commented Nov 27, 2017 at 1:07

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