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Taruns1008 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

#1 Each of them has expressed their opinion.

#2 Neither of the two children said his prayer before going to bed.

If we are using *their" in #1 then there should be "their" also in #2 as we are talking about two children.

Thank you
  

Top answer

"each" and "neither" are properly or traditionally grammatically singular. "their" in #1 can be construed as singular "their" -- used, presumably, because the people involved are of mixed or unknown ***. "his or her opinion" would be formally correct (and in my opinion preferable in careful English), but in practice singular "they" is common in such cases.

— GPY

  • "each" and "neither" are properly or traditionally grammatically singular.
  • "their" in #1 can be construed as singular "their" -- used, presumably, because the people involved are of mixed or unknown ***.
  • "his or her opinion" would be formally correct (and in my opinion preferable in careful English), but in practice singular "they" is common in such cases.
  • "their" can also be construed as a normal plural, written by someone who doesn't care to follow the traditional or formal rules (though this is also inconsistent with "has").
  • #2 is formally correct assuming both children are male (or, in an old style, if the children are of mixed or unknown ***).
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3 Answers
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"each" and "neither" are properly or traditionally grammatically singular.

"their" in #1 can be construed as singular "their" -- used, presumably, because the people involved are of mixed or unknown ***. "his or her opinion" would be formally correct (and in my opinion preferable in careful English), but in practice singular "they" is common in such cases. "their" can also be construed as
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Can you please give some more example where sentences have use both "their" and "his/her" to illustrate that, so I can understand the concept in better way?

Thank you
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taruns1008Can you please give some more example where sentences have use both "their" and "his/her" to illustrate that, so I can understand the concept in better way?
You will find plenty of examples at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
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