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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

his vs. their

Which is the correct choice for the sentence below and how can I tell for future reference?

Each male officer was required to buy (his/him/its/their/them) own uniforms.

Please help!
  

Top answer

When you can decide on gender (male/female) and number (singular/plural), use the respective possessive, in this case his . When you can't decide, use their or his/her . Each female officer was required to buy her own uniforms.

— Marius Hancu

  • When you can decide on gender (male/female) and number (singular/plural), use the respective possessive, in this case his .
  • When you can't decide, use their or his/her .
  • Each female officer was required to buy her own uniforms.
  • Each officer was required to buy his/her (or their ) own uniforms.
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1 Answers
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When you can decide on gender (male/female) and number (singular/plural), use the respective possessive, in this case his.

When you can't decide, use their or his/her.

Each female officer was required to buy her own uniforms.
Each officer was required to buy his/her (or their) own uniforms.
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