unisex 'they'

Question

Hi,What do you think about using unisex 'they', like in this example: Somebody left THEIR cell phone here (or his / his or her, etc)Which is best?thanks:)and one more thing ...what preposition should be used with the following:... forum (meaning internet forum .. I found it in/on/ forum?)...google/onet, etc

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Their is and has been in wide use for many years. Careful writing still calls for his or his or her.

Iwonabp · Answer

thank you for this immediate answer

and what about prepositions?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Oops, missed that question. I would use:

I found it at/on EnglishForward.
I found it on the internet.
I found it with Google.

FRANKLY SPEAKING · Answer

I don't think it is grammatically right to use
their instead of his or her , because you can not replace a plural pronoun instead of singular one

Mister Micawber · Answer

You might want to read this, for instance, from the American Heritage Book of English Usage:

The alternative to the masculine generic with the longest and most distinguished history in English is the third-person plural pronoun. Recognized writers have used they, them, themselves, and their to refer to singular nouns such as one, a person, an individual, and each since the 1300s. For example, in 1759 the Earl of Chesterfield wrote, “If a person is born of a…gloomy temper…they cannot help it,” and, echoing this sentiment, W. M. Thackeray wrote in Vanity Fair in 1848, “A person can’t help their birth.”	1
Modern writers of note, from George Bernard Shaw to Anne Morrow Lindbergh, have also used this construction, in sentences such as To do a person in means to kill them and When you love someone you do not love them all the time. The practice is widespread and can be found in such mainstream publications as Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Discover, and Wall Street Journal.	2
The use of the plural pronoun to refer to a singular noun or pronoun is hardly restricted to writing, however. Its use is so common in speech as to go without being noticed. And it is a favorite among advertisers, as in the slogan In matters of taste, to each their own.	3
When people shy away from using they to refer to a singular antecedent, it is usually out of respect for the traditional grammatical rule concerning pronoun agreement. Most of the Usage Panel rejects the use of they with singular antecedents as ungrammatical, even in informal speech. Eighty-two percent find the sentence The typical student in the program takes about six years to complete their course work unacceptable. Interestingly enough, panel members seem to make a distinction between singular nouns, such as the typical student and a person, and pronouns that are grammatically singular but semantically plural, such as anyone, everyone, and no one. Sixty-four percent of panel members accept the sentence No one is willing to work for those wages anymore, are they? in informal speech. Many writers might now consider this too fine a distinction—rejecting they for singular nouns but allowing it for singular pronouns that are plural in meaning—perhaps because they feel it will be missed by readers, who might merely think that the writer is being inconsistent.

FRANKLY SPEAKING · Answer

you convinced me in a good manner my friend
maybe you know alot about semantics and that's why you can manipulate the idea of replacing the plural pronoun instead of the singular pronoun
THUS i want to ask you one question :
if i want to get started in semantics , what are the tips that i should follow ?
and if there is a specific book it would be a good idea ..?
" IF YOU wrote a name of a book , please put its ISBN and the writer's name ."
thanks in advance

FRANKLY SPEAKING · Answer

FOR my friend Mister Micawber ...
sorry my friend are sure that we use ON with the world ..?
because i find it this way in OXFORD :
I got the information from the Internet.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Frank, you will notice that my words were:

I would use

In any case, your example has a different verb: to get from is a different collocation than to find on. Different verbs take different prepositions:

I got it from the internet.
I found it on the internet.
I invested it in the internet.
etc.

Mister Micawber · Answer

With regard to your question on semantics, I'm not sure that that is the subject to begin with-- a good source on English usage may be a better place to start.  There are of course good books in both fields, but if I were you, I would start by Googling for online sources.  Spend some time going through some grammar and linguistic websites, and you'll get a good overview and a better idea of the areas that interest you.

FRANKLY SPEAKING · Answer

I said in the last message
"are sure that we use ON with the world ..?"
I am sorry coz i made a spelling mistakes
the correction : are you sure .....with the word .
thanks a lot my friend but i want you to advise me what to do ...?
i have been studying for about a year and a half ENGLISH , at the beginning i wasn't that hardworking but by the time is going on i realized that i started to like " or love " ENGLISH , IT has became the only thing that i was thinking about
i am very good in grammar and i am memorizing many words every day , i am a good listener "i can recognize 90% of the speech"
now i am an advanced student but i started to get bored , becouse i want sth makes me fell that i am improving , i mean i want to start studying sth like semantics or the intonation or ..."i don't know "
SO in your opinion what is the best thing to do or study as an advanced student ?
and please give me a specific thing to do
" don't say googling or sth like this , name a book that would suit me to start with .."
with all my thanks my friend

unisex 'they'

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