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Vsuresh Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

His/Her

Hi
Please help me with this:

While we refer to group consisting of male and females, we use he/she.

Today there is unprecedented voice against gender discrimination.

So, if we say the form he/she is according to alphabetical order, should we change to His/Her to Her /His?
  

Top answer

vsuresh While we refer to a group consisting of male s and females, we use he/she. vsuresh So, if we say the form he/she is according to alphabetical order, should we change to His/Her to Her/His ? Why not, especially in females perspective!

— KhoshtipMan

  • vsuresh While we refer to a group consisting of male s and females, we use he/she.
  • vsuresh So, if we say the form he/she is according to alphabetical order, should we change to His/Her to Her/His ?
  • Why not, especially in females perspective!
  • But to keep yourself from that semi-war, I would use "they" and "them" instead.
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7 Answers
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vsureshWhile we refer to a group consisting of males and females, we use he/she.
vsureshSo, if we say the form he/she is according to alphabetical order, should we change to His/Her to Her/His?
Why not, especially in females perspective!
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Thank you for your comments, Khoshtip.
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KhoshtipManBut to keep yourself from that semi-war, I would use "they" and "them" instead.
This is a perennial question in English. While "they" and "them" are widely used to refer to a grammatically singular subject of undetermined ***, at least informally, there are occasions where, in my opinion, it sounds pretty awful. In those cases, and in formal English
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Hi GPY

What are your thoughts on using Her/His?
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vsureshHi GPYWhat are your thoughts on using Her/His?
To me it again seems obtrusive (seems a deliberate use of a non-idiomatic word order to make a point).
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... and, by the way, idiomatic word orders do not always put males first. For example, we normally say "Mum and Dad" not "Dad and Mum". "Ladies and gentlemen" is another example.
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