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"their" as a singular pronoun (was grammar gender)
Subject:"their" as a singular pronoun (was grammar gender) From:Darcey Harding <harding -at- US -dot- NET> Date:Mon, 26 Jun 1995 23:37:42 -0400
Hello all -
Admittedly, this is one of my favorite things to argue about. But for the
record, I thought I'd include what Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed)
has to say on the subject.
They
1. those ones -- used as a third person pronoun serving as the plural of he,
she, it
USAGE English lacks a common-gender pronoun third person singular pronoun.
. . The use of they, their, them, and themselves as pronouns of indefinite
gender and indefinite number is well established in speech and writing, EVEN
IN LITERARY AND FORMAL CONTEXTS. This gives you the option of using the
plural pronouns where you think they sound best, and of using the singular
pronouns where you think they sound best.
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Darcey C. Harding harding -at- us -dot- net
Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right.
-- Henry Ford
