13
votes
Accepted
Use of generic "one" without having to revel the gender
Would using a generic singular they be a good option here? or is there a better option?
I suggest abandoning the impersonal pronoun "one", and replacing it with "you".
The more ...
- 92.3k
8
votes
Use of "them" in "…she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them" by Taylor Swift
Usually a relative clause has a gap in it which corresponds to the noun phrase that it is modifying:
That is the dog(i) who [ __(i) bit him ].
That is the dog(i) who [ he bit __(i) ].
The little ...
- 47.7k
6
votes
"I was approached by what looked like a group of priests"
I would consider all of these nominal relative clauses that are acting as prepositional objects.
Nominal relative clauses are used as objects, subjects, or complements for the main clause and they ...
- 184
6
votes
Is it correct to say your pronouns are "she/they" or should it be "she/them"?
In short, "she/they" is the most common way for a person to indicate that they go by "she/her" or "they/them" pronouns, likely with a preference for the former. It is not ...
- 67.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Use of "us" as personal determinative
The construction is rare, but not so rare that examples of both cannot be found. As the data set is tiny though, there's unlikely to be a consensus about which one is 'correct', except from a ...
- 10.4k
5
votes
Is it correct to say your pronouns are "she/they" or should it be "she/them"?
I think your daughter is comfortable being called either "she" or "they". She (they) is probably OK with both sets of pronouns, but didn't write out the third-person possessive ...
- 357
5
votes
"I was approached by what looked like a group of priests"
[1] I was approached by [what looked like a group of priests].
[2] This is the beginning of [what might be a new era of science]!
[3] I'm sorry I'm late. I was held up for two hours at [what should ...
- 13.4k
5
votes
Where better to whet one's grammar?
Short answer (tl;dr):
You can use open interrogative words like who, but not closed ones like whether.
Some open interrogative words appear only very rarely in this construction.
Full answer:
We ...
- 47.7k
4
votes
Why is "it" used instead of "he/she" for human being in "it becomes a wise and virtuous man…"?
No. The sense of the passage is not "He/she becomes a wise and virtuous man" (?).
It refers to having recourse to such things (relaxation from work), which Aquinas says is becoming (...
- 26.6k
4
votes
Use of "them" in "…she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them" by Taylor Swift
I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.
Simplifying the sentence and making the connections more obvious, as well as ...
- 23.3k
3
votes
How does the word "it" function in: "What is it that makes us uneasy ... ?"
What is it that makes us uneasy about accepting credit for something wonderful we have done?
The original Poster asks three questions about their example:
What's the function of the word it?
Is it a ...
- 47.7k
3
votes
Why is "it" used instead of "he/she" for human being in "it becomes a wise and virtuous man…"?
"It" is here the neutral pronoun; it is used in a grammatical turn called "extraposition of a subject clause" (Quirk, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, § 2.59 ...
- 23.3k
2
votes
Is "What courses is everyone taking?" grammatical?
What courses is everyone taking?
This is technically grammatical, even though it may sound odd to a non-negligible amount of people. "What courses" is not a grammatical subject in this ...
- 83.7k
2
votes
Accepted
The use of "one" as a pronoun
If it's advice directed at a reader, it would sound cleaner with "you":
When describing yourself in a resume, don't understate your abilities.
If you insist on the remote-sounding "...
- 4,630
2
votes
you vs yourself?
Only you can persuade yourself, so if a comparison with other people is being made A doesn't work.
Personally, I would say
No one is better at persuading you than you are yourself.
- 26.6k
2
votes
Can an independent clause have an implied (or null) subject?
I feel like this is a stylistic choice. Commenters seem to be getting hung up on the OPs sentence and the use of the word "anyway," vs. the actual question at hand. If we replace that ...
- 21
2
votes
Why do people use all 3 components in their gender pronouns?
The three pronoun format (e.g., "he/him/his") is an obvious and hard-to-misunderstand way of communicating a person's personal gender pronouns. It is just convention, and even then, the two ...
- 67.1k
2
votes
Why is it correct to use "me" instead of "I" in this sentence?
It is a question of whether one is using "than" as a conjunction (in which case the choice would be "than I am") or as a preposition (in which case "than me" is ...
2
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of the "one" pronoun
see:
https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/30954/etymology-of-impersonal-pronoun-one
TL;DR
Origin is uncertain. Most likely a link to the word for 'man'. Little evidence of a link to 1 or ...
- 166
2
votes
Accepted
Is omitting the definite article in this case grammatically correct (and preferable)?
Your question refers to a manuscript rather than some online shorthand prose so the sentence should conform to normal usage.
Your sentence needs only one change. Using the genitive "sender's"...
- 28.8k
2
votes
Use of "us" as personal determinative
To me, personally, "us shoppers" sounds like the right choice.
From a theoretical perspective, the determiner succeed a preposition ("in") and prepositions assign accusative case (&...
- 780
1
vote
'It' or 'that' pronouns in why- questions
I feel like "why was it?" sounds wrong and "why was that?" sounds correct.
Both are possible – context is king: it puts the emphasis on “trip”; that focuses on, and is a reaction ...
- 45.1k
1
vote
To which object in a previous sentence does "those" refer?
{Those that are there} refers to fleas.
Those that are there = those that are present.
Were it the cats that were orange the sentence would be
The cats rarely have fleas. Those that have [fleas] are ...
- 45.1k
1
vote
Accepted
Is the double pronoun "it mine" correct in "You did it your way, now let me do it mine"?
The sentence is correct as you heard it on the TV show.
I don't know the context, so I can't say if it is a dummy pronoun or a personal pronoun referring to a particular action. It is the direct ...
- 35.7k
1
vote
Why is "each" ungrammatical in "It’s an insult to us each"?
I've heard this sort of construction numerous times in my life:
Did they tell you about it, John?
-- No,they didn't tell me about it.
And Mary, how about you? Did they tell you?
No, they didn't tell ...
- 22.4k
1
vote
The "editorial we" - pronouns and number agreement
The editorial "we" is often used in formal or professional writing to represent a collective viewpoint, even if only one person is involved. Here are some insights into your specific ...
- 11
1
vote
"one" as a pronoun for uncountable nouns
In a comment John Lawler wrote:
No. Although if they were countified by using indefinite pronouns, one could say I prefer a plain water to a sparkling (one); the final one is optional. As it is, you ...
- 136k
1
vote
Where better to whet one's grammar?
Who better to and how better to are both perfectly acceptable - see this. You could also say
What better way of cooking potatoes than baking?
- 26.6k
1
vote
"Within me" or "within myself"
I always hesitate between within me or within myself when the subject
is I. Is there a rule that can help me decide?
The fullness of life that we receive within us/ourselves every time we (do ...
- 45.1k
1
vote
How to get rid of pronoun ambiguity?
Hopefully this (late) answer won't seem too perverse: You resolve ambiguity by providing context.
Often there is the question "Is this sentence ambiguous," presenting for judgement a single ...
- 6,139
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