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Sig Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Everyone is free to do (what they want / what he wants)

A - Everyone is free to do what they want
B - Everyone is free to do what he wants

I feel like using B would mean that everyone is free to do what a particular person wants rather than what they as free individuals want, but I've seen both being used, (Not sure if correctly) so I doubt now which one expresses better the idea of freedom of a collective.
  

Top answer

A is now more normal as it is 'gender neutral'. I would say they usually mean the same otherwise.

— Vic Z

  • A is now more normal as it is 'gender neutral'.
  • I would say they usually mean the same otherwise.
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3 Answers
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A is now more normal as it is 'gender neutral'. I would say they usually mean the same otherwise.
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SigI feel like using B would mean that everyone is free to do what a particular person wants
That meaning would be possible only if the speaker were joking.

The two are equivalent in meaning, and no collective is implied. In this context 'they' refers to each person individually, not to a group of people. B is a more formal than A and it's not used
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