Hi, >>> I thought a purist drank "his" coffee black. (A purist also uses the >>> proper non-gender specific pronoun in English as well). >>> >>> > Very true. Even the New York Times, that bastion of American > liberalism, uses the third person masculine pronoun when the gender is > non-specific. Anything else is silly and awkward. > Paul
it seems to have become quite acceptable in British English to use 'their' rather than 'his' in this sort of situation. I use both, but I prefer not to paint myself into such a corner that I have to make the choice. Usually you can rewrite it, and often improve it, by addressing the reader as 'you', or by putting the whole thing into the plural. Examples: > proper non-gender specific pronoun Purists always hyphenate correctly. If you're a purist you always hyphenate correctly. -- Cheers, Bob
