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David Jonathan Bell Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Pronoun/antecedent agreement between clauses
Here's my student's sentence:
"Most everyone likes to visit a lot of places when he or she travels."
Since everyone,everybody, anybody, etc. are always singular, there seems to be nothing grammatically wrong with the sentence. However, the pronoun in the adverb clause (he or she) sounds really strange to me... I can't help myself from using the plural pronoun "they" there. Is this just a case of hearing the mistake for far too long, or is there some exception for pronoun/antecedent non-agreement in dependent clauses (somehow, I doubt this, but I'll ask anyway).
Thanks!
"Most everyone likes to visit a lot of places when he or she travels."
Since everyone,everybody, anybody, etc. are always singular, there seems to be nothing grammatically wrong with the sentence. However, the pronoun in the adverb clause (he or she) sounds really strange to me... I can't help myself from using the plural pronoun "they" there. Is this just a case of hearing the mistake for far too long, or is there some exception for pronoun/antecedent non-agreement in dependent clauses (somehow, I doubt this, but I'll ask anyway).
Thanks!
Top answer
That singular "they" has been used by the best writers down through the ages. You and your instinct are in good company. It is still frowned upon as ungrammatical in all contexts in formal writing, last I checked.
- That singular "they" has been used by the best writers down through the ages.
- You and your instinct are in good company.
- It is still frowned upon as ungrammatical in all contexts in formal writing, last I checked.
- The old-style generic "he" is also frowned upon these days as sexist.
- What I can't understand is why technical ungrammaticality or seeming sexism is considered to be worse than absurdity.
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3 Answers
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That singular "they" has been used by the best writers down through the ages. You and your instinct are in good company. It is still frowned upon as ungrammatical in all contexts in formal writing, last I checked. The old-style generic "he" is also frowned upon these days as sexist.
What I can't understand is why technical ungrammaticality or seeming sexism is considered to be worse than
What I can't understand is why technical ungrammaticality or seeming sexism is considered to be worse than
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Hello, David—and welcome to English Forums. No, no exception for dependent clauses. But like it or not, formal writing (when handed into more traditionalist teachers and journal editors) still prefers 'he or she' over 'they'. In the sentence you present, 'he or she' sticks out particularly because it is such a different register from the casual 'lots of places'.
My suggestion to student
My suggestion to student
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Thanks, enoon. I am aware of the debate and apparent controversy over using "they" as a singular pronoun... I just didn't realize that that's why I felt "they" should replace "he or she" in this sentence. Of course!
As a writing teacher, I'm still torn between telling my students to use "they" and "their" as singular pronouns and telling it's just often less awkward to use plural througho
As a writing teacher, I'm still torn between telling my students to use "they" and "their" as singular pronouns and telling it's just often less awkward to use plural througho
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