Formal writing should be clear, not exclusive. Thank you for this article. If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page. Get your answers by asking now. How are Dems celebrating Biden's big lead? what are they fighting? I'd suggest: Pilots at the airline, angered at the prospect of seeing their pension plans replaced with less generous versions, vowed to use legal means to fight the proposed changes. Sign up to receive the FREE weekly GrammarBook.com E-Newsletter. Patrice Sayre writes: Remembering Jane Straus | May 18, 1954—February 25, 2011 | Author of the original Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. Yes, "them" is plural ("it" is singular). If you look at statement A, it seems to me that there is an incongruity in it. Still have questions? It should have been "him or her", or the beginning of the sentence should have referred to any "children" that misbehave. When a person writes “anyone out of their senses,” I would assume that person is addressing a body of people, not just one person. there seems to be some issues with using him in these times if increased awareness of the need for gender equality. You would say legal means to fight THEM. There are people who identify as “they”. I found myself wholeheartedly disappointed to get to the bottom of this article and see you completely invalidate everything written before it. • From A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage (1957) by Bergen Evans and Cornelia Evans: “The use of they in speaking of a single individual is not a modern deviation from classical English. See more. I cannot understand why some of your other answerers feel the urge to rewrite it into less comprehensible form! them is never used as a singular word. There are a number of trans or non-binary people using “they” as a singular pronoun to refer to themselves. Plural, so "them" is correct. Jan E. Falcona writes: I’d appreciate hearing your discussion of this use. We do recommend that sentences be rewritten to avoid singular they where possible, but it may not always be possible when dealing with gender issues (see 2019’s Word of the Year Is Inclusive Not Divisive). If any students misbehave on the band trip, their parents will have to drive to Dallas to pick them up. How do you think about the answers? Thanks! Them is plural and is used for a plural word. there seems to be some issues with using him in these times if increased awareness of the need for gender equality. It is not up to me or any other hardcore grammarians (my people!) Nouns like this include: trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps, stairs, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits Please ensure that your question or comment relates to the topic of the blog post. Thank you. These folks expressly request being referred to as “they” rather than “he” or “she.” So to me, the evidence is overwhelming that we need a gender-neutral pronoun, and “they” is the closest thing we’ve got. In order to use “his senses,” then anyone should be qualified by “who is male.” Otherwise statement A should replace “his” with “their.”. I teach business English, and I am seeing the use of “they” as singular more and more. Whether you loathe how it sounds or not, it’s worth considering the impact the choice has on audiences. Let me start by saying I love your grammatical blogs. Jane writes: Get your answers by asking now. C) It’s enough to drive anyone out of their senses. So do we recommend the singular they? The dictionary has long been the standard “go to” for correct spelling and usage. Italics? You seem to be correct. We’ve always needed a gender-neutral pronoun in English, and “they” is used informally that way all the time. We consider ourselves traditionalists too. I say, let’s roll with “they” and make life easier. English Learner's Question: glass of a picture? We have printed representative comments below. Karla writes: The phrase when acting as a subject is always singular and so singular pronont "It" should be use to refer it. What do you use instead? I was surprised to see there was no reference to the evolving concept of gender, enforced or chosen. From what I understand "him" is singular and can be both masculine and neuter. Even despite these eminent writers’ words, we know that many of you are adamant that the plural pronoun they and its variants should never be used with singular antecedents. Is it racist to say that someone is russian? Material created by Jane Straus and GrammarBook.com. However, as Kim has noted, I think it should be reworded for clarity. Becuz them is always talking about more than 1 person. Many people no longer accept an assigned gender especially because of strict gender roles and discrimination.

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