tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post274091985530964586..comments2024-03-28T12:17:44.126-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): "They" as a singular pronounMinnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-35988669095193421372009-08-03T21:00:19.834-05:002009-08-03T21:00:19.834-05:00As an english major I always hated the awkward con...As an english major I always hated the awkward construct "his or hers" and always substituted "their" on any but the most formal of occasions. Sadly, English lacks a gender-neutral third person singular other than the haughty sounding "one" as in "one should [insert superior-than-thou instuctional phrase here]".<br />I'm all for substituting the gender-neutral third person pronouns. English is flexible if it is anything, despite what they taught in elementary school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-58765321027796960202009-08-02T13:47:05.846-05:002009-08-02T13:47:05.846-05:00@Anonymous - That's not really what this is ab...@Anonymous - That's not really what this is about. Imagine you are leaving the house and you tell your spouse or friend "If anyone calls, just tell ____ I'll be back about noon."<br /><br />Fill in the blank. You could say "him" or "her" if you knew who was calling, but to cover all the bases you would logically say "them" - even though "anyone" is single ("is anyone" there, not "are anyone" there).Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-51034524685405754882009-08-02T09:07:15.086-05:002009-08-02T09:07:15.086-05:00"They is" sounds ridiculous to me."They is" sounds ridiculous to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-26097074595452685602009-08-02T02:49:46.346-05:002009-08-02T02:49:46.346-05:00I live in the UK and meet this usage every day. I ...I live in the UK and meet this usage every day. I wasn't aware that it's not universally accepted.Michael Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00753602300957907993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-12331797978266920492009-08-01T14:23:24.841-05:002009-08-01T14:23:24.841-05:00I knew of this rule about "they," (and a...I knew of this rule about "they," (and about putting punctuation inside of parentheses,) but never knew why it was so. Thanks for the scoop.<br /><br />I agree totally with Swift Loris.FUZZARELLYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12340378858926874634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-32412501247803570582009-08-01T13:58:47.149-05:002009-08-01T13:58:47.149-05:00Can't legitimize singular "they" too...Can't legitimize singular "they" too soon for me. As an editor, I've spent countless hours trying to find ways to gender-neutralize text that doesn't involve endless repetitions of "he or she" or similar awkward constructions.Swift Lorisnoreply@blogger.com