Linked Questions

1 vote
4 answers
30k views

Use of "it" and "its" for people and animals

Can I use it and its for people? Example: The fear is the essential attribute of a human nature. It figures a crucial role in its survival. where its means human's. Can I use it and its for ...
itun's user avatar
  • 289
137 votes
5 answers
204k views

Can “whose” refer to an inanimate object?

We lit a fire whose fuel was old timber wood. Is the word whose referring to fire, an inanimate object, correct in this sentence? Or is there a more appropriate word?
nicholas ainsworth's user avatar
13 votes
5 answers
13k 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 ...
Shani's user avatar
  • 265
19 votes
5 answers
69k views

Referring to objects as "she" [duplicate]

Sometimes people are referring to mechanical objects as "she": I love my car. She always gets the best service. Are there any rules when it is appropriate to use "she" instead of it, and is "he" ...
serg's user avatar
  • 5,101
10 votes
6 answers
15k views

"He" / "she" vs. "it" regarding beloved objects

Is that normal to regard a beloved object (an animal, a car, a book) as he/she? If yes, what gender should be used in this case? One comment in this question touched the tendency to humanize things ...
Vladislav Rastrusny's user avatar
12 votes
4 answers
60k views

Pronoun "it" for baby?

Does anyone know why the word "baby" is referred to by the pronoun "it" rather than a human pronoun. Is there an historical/etymological reason?
Ilana's user avatar
  • 286
9 votes
3 answers
9k views

Why isn't "it" used in place of "he or she", "he/she", "s/he" etc.?

There is a related discussion on this Q&A site. My question 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",...
grokus's user avatar
  • 3,684
2 votes
2 answers
4k views

Personal pronouns for animals

In my native language German, every animal has an article. This is understandable, if one wants for example to distinguish a male pig (boar) from a female pig (sow). But if one just talks about the ...
Alexander Rühl's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

'Which' applied to brute animals

I found the phrase “... the horse which ran was not the horse nor of the age which he was represented to be at the time of entry ...” in a sentence of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New ...
user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
4k views

When to use "to take a walk" & when to use "to walk"?

This website says used with a noun instead of using a verb to describe an action. For example, if you take a walk, you walk somewhere So "to take a walk" & "to walk" can be used ...
Tom's user avatar
  • 4,775
2 votes
3 answers
230 views

The general 'it' [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What does “it” refer to in “it's raining”? Whence the “it” in “I like it here”? What is the grammatical term for the 'it'...
user23380's user avatar