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NanakiXIII Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Is a child an it or a he?

0When referring to the word "child" in a text, should you use "it" or "he"? 0-
  

Top answer

0Hi,02br 02br 00'It' can be used for babies, but is not usually used for older children. 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-

— Clive

  • 0Hi,02br 02br 00'It' can be used for babies, but is not usually used for older children.
  • 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-
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13 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
00'It' can be used for babies, but is not usually used for older children. The term commonly shows the speaker's emotional detachment from the child.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0 Dear NanakiXIII,02br
00you can use "...he or she..." as I have seen.02br
00.You find an example in the text below.02br
00greetings02br
00Jan02br
02br
00The development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is livi
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1blockquote
01cite10NanakiXIII12cite10When referring to the word "child" in a text, should you use "it" or "he"? 12blockquote
10You can use it when referring to a baby if you do not know whether the baby is male or female.0-
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0Hi,02br
02br
00Or sometimes if you just 01i00don't care02i00. 02br
02br
00Clive0-
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0 I make it a point 01u00never02u00to refer to a baby as "it" when I'm talking directly to the baby's parents. 050010id3
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1blockquote
01cite10Yankee12cite10 I make it a point 11u10never12u10 to refer to a baby as "it" when I'm talking directly to the baby's parents. 15012br
12br
12br
12blockquote
10Hi Amy02br
02br
00I'll ask the parents whether the baby is male or female before I refer
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0I usually just ask what the baby's name is (and cross my fingers that the name is clearly a male or female one). 05002br
00. 010id2
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1blockquote
01cite10Yankee12cite10I make it a point 11u10never12u10 to refer to a baby as "it" when I'm talking directly to the baby's parents. 12blockquote
10Yeah, it's best to ask in a public office in town for a document or something, to see what's the baby's *** before going to visit the family. 05000 K
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0Hi,02br
02br
00As I mentioned above, there's a question of emotional detachment.02br
02br
00I might refer to my colleague Mary's baby girl as 'it' when speaking to a third party, but for politeness I'd say 'she' when speaking to Mary. 02br
02br
00There is also, of course, the expression 'It's a boy', where this is a different type of '
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1blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite10There is also, of course, the expression 'It's a boy', where this is a different type of 'it'. You might call it an introductory 'it'.12blockquote
10Hi Clive,02br
00do you mean that when we ask 01i01b00"Is it a boy or a girl?"02b02i00 the answer would be
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