12 replies to this topic

[Casimo]

I just got the notification "flyingfisch has replied to their status".
It is "his", isn't it?

Edited by Casimo, 01 August 2013 - 07:54 AM.

[flyingfisch]

Indeed it is, though it seems that a lot of internet software does that and i dont know why... ("They have replied to your email", "They have received your PM").

[Casimo]

It seems like they would be modern. But they sounds strange....
(This was a joke, because I'm smiling like this: )

[flyingfisch]

lol


maybe its a he/she thing. they dont want the software to call a woman "he" or a man "she". However, technically in that case "he" would be used, though I guess that's disputable....

[Casimo]

I don't understand why they ask for your gender then.

[flyingfisch]

I know.... its weird. But I don't think you have to fill in the gender field.

[Forty-Two]

I just got the notification "flyingfisch has replied to their status".
It is "his", isn't it?

It should be his/her, but that's awkward, so they use a plural pronoun instead.

[flyingfisch]

It should be his/her, but that's awkward, so they use a plural pronoun instead.

It should be "his". "His" is used when gender is not known. At least that's what my English book says, as well as The Elements of Style. And no, my English book was not published in the Stone Age.

[Forty-Two]

It should be "his". "His" is used when gender is not known. At least that's what my English book says, as well as The Elements of Style. And no, my English book was not published in the Stone Age.

Sexism in the English language.

[flyingfisch]

w/e

Worked since middle english, so idc.

[2072]

actually 'their' is correct in that case but seldom used and thus often considered as being incorrect... as explained there: http://www.macmillan...y/british/their

I've noticed that in most recent american books, 'her/she' is used when speaking about an indeterminate human being... it does feel strange though. I personally consider this problem as a flaw in the English language!

[noname11]

Once my English teacher told me that "their" is used when you don't know if it should be "his" or "her".

I prefer using it for words like everyone, someone and anyone.
And as I'm not a native speaker, it sounds right to me.

PS: In German you would always use "his".

[MicroPro]

Ah this grammar... I once got even more confused because my American dictionary frequently had entries like:

Provide = to give something to someone or make it available to them, because they need it or want it