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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
Usage
Discovered in the wild --- "your" for singular "their"
In a CNN education story today:
"A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."
This is what the quoted mother said when she discovered that her son was having ocular problems that caused him to do poorly in school.
It's quite clear that the mass of native speakers of the language cannot even get these obnoxious alternatives right, so why are some saying that the way the language is used by the majority is acceptable? It may be acceptable for the mass of speakers, but it certainly doesn't look or sound acceptable to everyone.
It's what Eric Walker would call English that is "not sound" (I think). I agree.
Whaddaya think, Schultz?
http://tinyurl.com/p5hb
Vision problems can make school a struggle
Monday, September 29, 2003
"A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."
This is what the quoted mother said when she discovered that her son was having ocular problems that caused him to do poorly in school.
It's quite clear that the mass of native speakers of the language cannot even get these obnoxious alternatives right, so why are some saying that the way the language is used by the majority is acceptable? It may be acceptable for the mass of speakers, but it certainly doesn't look or sound acceptable to everyone.
It's what Eric Walker would call English that is "not sound" (I think). I agree.
Whaddaya think, Schultz?
http://tinyurl.com/p5hb
Vision problems can make school a struggle
Monday, September 29, 2003
Top answer
"[/nq] That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her". Stewart.
- "[/nq] That's for "their" is it?
- I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her".
- Stewart.
- My e-mail is valid but not my primary mailbox.
- Please keep replies on on the 'group where everyone may benefit.
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45 Answers
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While it was 30/9/03 10:14 am throughout the UK, kibishii sprinkled little black dots on a white screen, and they fell thus:
[nq:1]In a CNN education story today: "A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."[/nq]
That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her".
Stewart.
My e-mail is valid b
[nq:1]In a CNN education story today: "A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."[/nq]
That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her".
Stewart.
My e-mail is valid b
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The inimitable Stewart Gordon stated one day
[nq:1]While it was 30/9/03 10:14 am throughout the UK, kibishii sprinkled little black dots on a white screen, and they fell thus:[/nq]
[nq:2]In a CNN education story today: "A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."[/nq]
[nq:1] That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard Eng
[nq:1]While it was 30/9/03 10:14 am throughout the UK, kibishii sprinkled little black dots on a white screen, and they fell thus:[/nq]
[nq:2]In a CNN education story today: "A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."[/nq]
[nq:1] That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard Eng
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[nq:2]While it was 30/9/03 10:14 am throughout the UK, kibishii ... common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her".[/nq]
[nq:1]That's the way I see it too, but there are some in this NG who see it differently. They are ... of ***, "their" is the correct pronoun. Surely you've seen the thread discussing "Every father wants their child to succeed"?[/nq]
In this case, I s
[nq:1]That's the way I see it too, but there are some in this NG who see it differently. They are ... of ***, "their" is the correct pronoun. Surely you've seen the thread discussing "Every father wants their child to succeed"?[/nq]
In this case, I s
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[nq:2]That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her".[/nq]
[nq:1]That's the way I see it too, but there are some in this NG who see it differently. They are ... of ***, "their" is the correct pronoun. Surely you've seen the thread discussing "Every father wants their child to succeed"?[/nq]
I would say that, if we have
[nq:1]That's the way I see it too, but there are some in this NG who see it differently. They are ... of ***, "their" is the correct pronoun. Surely you've seen the thread discussing "Every father wants their child to succeed"?[/nq]
I would say that, if we have
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[nq:1]They are convinced that when the reference is to no one in particular and regardless of ***, "their" is the correct pronoun.[/nq]
I remember that in school it seemed clear to me that "my", "your", etc, were adjectives, because they modify nouns. But the official line was that they were "possessive pronouns", so I memorized that.
But I still think I was right all along. These a
I remember that in school it seemed clear to me that "my", "your", etc, were adjectives, because they modify nouns. But the official line was that they were "possessive pronouns", so I memorized that.
But I still think I was right all along. These a
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While it was 30/9/03 7:10 pm throughout the UK, Mike Oliver sprinkled little black dots on a white screen, and they fell thus:
[nq:1]I remember that in school it seemed clear to me that "my", "your", etc, were adjectives, because they modify nouns. But the official line was that they were "possessive pronouns", so I memorized that.[/nq]
ATMS they're determiners.
When I went to s
[nq:1]I remember that in school it seemed clear to me that "my", "your", etc, were adjectives, because they modify nouns. But the official line was that they were "possessive pronouns", so I memorized that.[/nq]
ATMS they're determiners.
When I went to s
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[nq:2]Stewart Gordon stated: That's the way I see it too, ... the thread discussing "Every father wants their child to succeed"?[/nq]
[nq:1]In this case, I suspect that what's happening is that you're seeing interference between two different formulations A mother's heart ... is indeed what's happening, linguists would consider it a "performance error", since what came out wasn't actually what
[nq:1]In this case, I suspect that what's happening is that you're seeing interference between two different formulations A mother's heart ... is indeed what's happening, linguists would consider it a "performance error", since what came out wasn't actually what
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[nq:1]I would say that, if we have to have singular "they", then it makes sense for the rules for its ... sexist. If that's the only argument, then we should go back to unmarked "he", because the argument is just wrong.[/nq]
Happily, this is not the only reason for the use of singular "they". See the thread discussing "every father wants their child to succeed". So we can go on using singular
Happily, this is not the only reason for the use of singular "they". See the thread discussing "every father wants their child to succeed". So we can go on using singular
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[nq:1]While it was 30/9/03 10:14 am throughout the UK, kibishii sprinkled little black dots on a white screen, and they fell thus:[/nq]
[nq:2]In a CNN education story today: "A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."[/nq]
[nq:1] That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her".[/nq]
Could be. The sense
[nq:2]In a CNN education story today: "A mother's heart hurts when your kid does not do well."[/nq]
[nq:1] That's for "their" is it? I thought it was for the common standard English word in its standard English meaning, "her".[/nq]
Could be. The sense
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[nq:2]I would say that, if we have to have singular ... back to unmarked "he", because the argument is just wrong.[/nq]
[nq:1]Happily, this is not the only reason for the use of singular "they". See the thread discussing "every father wants their child to succeed". So we can go on using singular "they".[/nq]
Does the "so" in your last group of words mean "in order to" or "therefore"? If th
[nq:1]Happily, this is not the only reason for the use of singular "they". See the thread discussing "every father wants their child to succeed". So we can go on using singular "they".[/nq]
Does the "so" in your last group of words mean "in order to" or "therefore"? If th
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