Proper use of the word "their."
Poll
3 votes (23.07%) | |||
1 vote (7.69%) | |||
4 votes (30.76%) | |||
No votes (0%) | |||
No votes (0%) | |||
1 vote (7.69%) | |||
4 votes (30.76%) |
13 members have voted
July 27th, 2014 at 8:42:36 PM permalink | |
beachbumbabs Member since: Sep 3, 2013 Threads: 6 Posts: 1600 | I think that English, as a living language, can accept the common usage of "their" as an acceptable indistinct gender/neutral pronoun. It's less awkward than "his or her", and less jarring than "he" when including the feminine. "Proper"? Not really. But "he" is archaic; I think the acceptance of that as generic, when it clearly isn't, was the original error, and this corrects it in a less offensive manner. One is either man or woman; when referring to either, it seems most correct to include both. BTW, in the example above, I think "themselves" would be more correct. I'm not even sure "themself " is a word (which this window auto-corrected and I had to force-edit it back in), but I don't think you can mix the singular and plural in a compound word and be grammatically correct. Never doubt a small group of concerned citizens can change the world; it's the only thing ever has |
July 28th, 2014 at 12:21:35 AM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 | Good god. I'm still trying to get people to stop typing 'loose' when they mean lose. And y'all are worried about the proper use of 'their'? Remember the Anal Retentive Chef on SNL? I think that applies here: https://screen.yahoo.com/anal-retentive-chef-mothers-day-000000641.html If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
July 28th, 2014 at 2:58:29 AM permalink | |
odiousgambit Member since: Oct 28, 2012 Threads: 154 Posts: 5094 | Today you have a lot of folks use "she" instead of "he" or "he/she" as the pronoun in such cases. In some cases I get the feeling they try to switch at random, others stick with "she" at all times. I am totally in favor of "their" in informal writing, and think "he" is the only proper choice in formal writing. As for "he/she", that's an abomination. You can guess what I think of the practice at the top. I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me] |
July 28th, 2014 at 3:58:36 AM permalink | |
chickenman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 0 Posts: 368 | I'm more struck by the inconsistent use of pronouns in that "their" is followed by "imagine what "she...". To completely neutralize this say, "The average person uses less than 10% of available brain capacity. Imagine what one could do with 100%. But of course that isn't consistent with the gender of the movie and unnecessarily sterilizes the tagline so I vote simply use "her" and avoid the other issues. He's everywhere, he's everywhere...! |
July 28th, 2014 at 5:16:28 AM permalink | |
Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
Given the difficulty of making this sentence sound natural with pronouns, I think the only realistic option is to resort to participles. (C) "The average American needs the small routines of getting ready for work. The acts of shaving, blow-drying hair, or pulling on panty-hose, is a way of easing oneself by small stages into the demands of the day." |
July 28th, 2014 at 6:33:13 AM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
There are two references being made. One to the average person, "they," and one to the film's protagonist, "she." Nothing wrong or inconsistent. Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
July 28th, 2014 at 6:34:38 AM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
There's already a pronoun: "they." Live with it. If not, then let's use "she" for when gender isn't known or specified. As in " When a person like the Wizard says something about probability or math, you can take her statements to the bank." What could possibky be wrong with that? Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
July 28th, 2014 at 9:02:59 AM permalink | |
chickenman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 0 Posts: 368 | Get rid of the "their" if that's the take He's everywhere, he's everywhere...! |
July 28th, 2014 at 12:07:34 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 | Am I the only one who thinks Scarlett is only average in the acting and looks dept? I've never seen a movie of hers I liked. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
July 29th, 2014 at 4:25:57 AM permalink | |
1nickelmiracle Member since: Mar 5, 2013 Threads: 24 Posts: 623 | I had forgotten this was wrong. I was a pretty good speller and good with grammar before I started using the phone to communicate, but I'm slipping. With the phone dictionary being limited, I think I'm training myself to lose my vocabulary because I start believing words aren't words because they aren't in the small dictionary. The incorrect usage of their doesn't bother me because of the lack of a better word for our needs. I happened to see Pawn Stars last night where they were looking at a math book from civil war times. English wasn't standard then and the excerpt they read was very similar to ebonics. Don't forget proper English isn't proper by itself, but just proper because those in control have decided it to be proper. |