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"The Washington Post accepts use of "they" as a singular pronoun. Pearls clutched across the nation." http://suricattus.livejou... referring to this: http://www.poynter.org/ne...
"The Washington Post accepts use of "they" as a singular pronoun. Pearls clutched across the nation." http://suricattus.livejou... referring to this: http://www.poynter.org/ne...
9 years ago
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"from the memo:
"It is usually possible, and preferable, to recast sentences as plural to avoid both the sexist and antiquated universal default to male pronouns and the awkward use of he or she, him or her and the like: All students must complete their homework, not Each student must complete his or her homework.
When such a rewrite is impossible or hopelessly awkward, however, what is known as “the singular they” is permissible: Everyone has their own opinion about the traditional grammar rule. The singular they is also useful in references to people who identify as neither male nor female."
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bentley
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The historical evidence and even some prescriptivist recommendations make clear that a singular "they" is legitimate and a useful tool for gender-neutral phrasing. I definitely prefer it to "his or her" and the like in most cases. Sometimes the singular "they" sounds awkward to my ear, especially when a sentence could be rephrased in a way that makes the pronoun agree with its antecedent. In the example "But a journalist should not be forced to reveal their sources," "a journalist" could be written as "journalists" and avoid a conflict in number, which I think is what the Washington Post is recommending.
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John B.
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