Pronoun-antecedent agreement

Question

Would you use 'his' as the gender neutral default instead of 'his or her'? Do you prefer #1 or #2 below?
1 -- Has anybody lost his ticket?
2 -- Has anybody lost his or her ticket?

* Are these correct with pronoun-antecedent agreement?
* Thanks to everybody for his or her support.
* Thanks to all for their support.
* Every employee should bring his or her laptop to the meeting.
* All employees should bring their laptops to the meeting.

****anybody, anyone, everybody, everyone, no one, someone -- Each of these pronouns is singular and requires "he" or "she" (never "they") on further reference.
Is this correct?

* somebody = some body = one person
* someone = some one = one person
* anybody = any body = one person
* anyone = any one = one person
* everybody = every body = one person
* everyone = every one = one person

Do you agree with everything?

Thanks.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hi homerfarmsby;

We have had many discussions on this topic. Many of us use their as a singular gender-neutral antecedent instead of the awkward his/her, his or her... etc.

See this usage note in Dictionary.com:
Long before the use of generic he was condemned as sexist, the
pronouns they, their, and them were used in educated speech
and in all but the most formal writing to refer to indefinite pronouns
and to singular nouns of general personal reference, probably
because such nouns are often not felt to be exclusively singular:
If anyone calls, tell them I'll be back at six. Everyone began looking
for their books at once. Such use is not a recent development,
nor is it a mark of ignorance. Shakespeare, Swift, Shelley, Scott,
and Dickens, as well as many other English and American writers,
have used they and its forms to refer to singular antecedents.
This usage is widespread in the language (though still rejected as
ungrammatical by some).

Pronoun-antecedent agreement

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