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You can tell 'bout a person by their shoes.Why is "their" used here? Person isn't plural... Why not "its" or "his/her"?We'd lay there in our bunks and I'd miss Carrol.What's the meaning of this sentence and 'd in particular?Thank you in advance

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

You can tell 'bout a person by their shoes.

Why is "their" used here? Person isn't plural... Why not "its" or "his/her"?

You can't say 'it' for a person.

If we say just 'his', it sounds a bit like we just mean

a man.

It's rather clumsy to write 'his or her'.

So, we commonly just say 'their' like this, particularly in casual English.

We'd lay there in our bunks and I'd miss Carrol.

What's the meaning of this sentence and 'd would in particular?

'would' is used here to speak of past habits.

eg When I was a teenager, I would lie in my bed until lunch time.

Clive

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