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JaxTeller Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

is this sentence correct?

Is this sentence correct?

The parent is aware of the whereabouts of their child.
  

Top answer

The parent is aware of the whereabouts of their child . Sounds OK as a casual reference to some specific parent. 'Their' is casually and commonly used like this to avoid saying 'his or her'.

— Clive

  • The parent is aware of the whereabouts of their child .
  • Sounds OK as a casual reference to some specific parent.
  • 'Their' is casually and commonly used like this to avoid saying 'his or her'.
  • The parent is (always) aware of the whereabouts of the / his or her child Parents are (always) aware of the whereabouts of their children.
  • These two examples are a better way to make a general statement..
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3 Answers
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The parent is aware of the whereabouts of their child. Sounds OK as a casual reference to some specific parent. 'Their' is casually and commonly used like this to avoid saying 'his or her'.

The parent is (always) aware of the whereabouts of the / his or her child
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thanks!, I kind of thought that it was to avoid saying his or her, but I wanted to be sure.
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Emre25The parent is aware of the whereabouts of their child.
A couple of comments after Clive...
This sentence doesn't sound semantically smooth to my ear.
If you are making a general statement, I think you need to use the plural; "parents" and "is" needs to be replaced by "should be" in order to make good sense:
Parents should be awa
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