tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9878002.post7441059209199891697..comments2024-03-23T06:50:28.304-05:00Comments on PERPETUAL FOLLY: Dear One Story: You’re not helping!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9878002.post-29779542054557386162008-11-03T07:13:00.000-05:002008-11-03T07:13:00.000-05:00I don't care if a usage is recent, but I do care a...I don't care if a usage is recent, but I do care about ambiguities. If a reader needs to spend any extra time trying to figure out what a writer means, then it's an obstacle to understanding, and the disagreement in number between pronoun and antecedent creates such a vagueness. Did the author intend for the antecedent to be plural? Or does the pronoun in fact refer to a plural antecedent that is misplaced? I understand that this has become more common in British usage, but I'll continue to battle against it in American writing, because I consider it sloppy. (And, fortunately, I'm not alone.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05886890881221225553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9878002.post-4768314497249310682008-11-03T04:18:00.000-05:002008-11-03T04:18:00.000-05:00Cliff,In contemporary British English (I'm less fa...Cliff,<BR/><BR/>In contemporary British English (I'm less familiar with US English), "their" happens to have an alternative meaning of "his or her". It's true that this usage is recent but so what?<BR/><BR/>Paul EpsteinPaul Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14875799188044948632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9878002.post-21165465653587921222008-10-29T06:46:00.000-05:002008-10-29T06:46:00.000-05:00That's true, although we're not there yet. (And I ...That's true, although we're not there yet. (And I wish my students used "they" as a non-sexist solution to a problem, but in fact they don't think about it when they do it, and I suppose that's what I'm trying to address.) So, for now, I'm going with the rule that it should be avoided if possible, and it's almost always possible.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05886890881221225553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9878002.post-38002643573888274462008-10-29T02:34:00.000-05:002008-10-29T02:34:00.000-05:00Ah, but later on (p. 718), Garner notes, "Though t...Ah, but later on (p. 718), Garner notes, "Though the masculine singular personal pronoun may survive awhile longer as a generic term, it will probably be displaced ultimately by “they,” which is coming to be used alternatively as singular or plural....That it sets many literate Americans’ teeth on edge is an unfortunate obstacle to what promises to be the ultimate solution to the problem."Deanna Hoakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11152307378680031431noreply@blogger.com