"""Using the plural pronoun to refer to a single person of unspecified gender is an old and honorable pattern in English, not a newfangled bit of degeneracy or a politically correct plot to avoid sexism (though it often serves the latter purpose). People who insist that %u201CEveryone has brought his own lunch%u201D is the only correct form do not reflect the usage of centuries of fine writers. A good general rule is that only when the singular noun does not specify an individual can it be replaced plausibly with a plural pronoun: %u201CEverybody%u201D is a good example. We know that %u201Ceverybody%u201D is singular because we say %u201Ceverybody is here,%u201C not %u201Ceverybody are here%u201D yet we tend to think of %u201Ceverybody%u201D as a group of individuals, so we usually say %u201Ceverybody brought their own grievances to the bargaining table.%u201D %u201CAnybody%u201D is treated similarly.
However, in many written sentences the use of singular %u201Ctheir%u201D and %u201Cthey%u201D creates an irritating clash even when it passes unnoticed in speech. It is wise to shun this popular pattern in formal writing. Often expressions can be pluralized to make the %u201Cthey%u201D or %u201Ctheir%u201D indisputably proper: %u201CAll of them have brought their own lunches.%u201D %u201CPeople%u201D can often be substituted for %u201Ceach.%u201D Americans seldom avail themselves of the otherwise very handy British %u201Cone%u201D to avoid specifying gender because it sounds to our ears rather pretentious: %u201COne%u2019s hound should retrieve only one%u2019s own grouse.%u201D If you decide to try %u201Cone,%u201D don%u2019t switch to %u201Cthey%u201D in mid-sentence: %u201COne has to be careful about how they speak%u201D sounds absurd because the word %u201Cone%u201D so emphatically calls attention to its singleness. The British also quite sensibly treat collective bodies like governmental units and corporations as plural (%u201CParliament have approved their agenda%u201D) whereas Americans insist on treating them as singular.""" From: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43910 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
