Complete English Grammar Rules_ Examples, Exceptions, Exercises, and Everything You Need to Master Proper Grammar ( PDFDrive )-74

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adventure.”
•	“The	Prime	Minister	promised	that	the	United	Kingdom	would	be	returned	to
her	former	glory	during	his	term.”
This	is	a	more	traditional	usage;	it	is	less	common	these	days,	and	by	no	means
necessary.	Some	style	guides	go	so	far	as	to	discourage	its	use.
*Usage	Note:	“Singular	they”
English	does	not	have	a	way	of	identifying	a	single	person	with	a	pronoun	if	his
or	her	gender	is	not	known,	so	sometimes	the	third-person	plural	forms	(they,
them,	etc.)	are	used	as	a	gender-neutral	alternative	to	the	third-person
feminine/masculine	forms.	This	is	sometimes	called	“singular	they.”
For	example:
•	“You	shouldn’t	judge	someone	until	you	know	what	they	are	really	like.”
•	“If	anyone	needs	extra	help	with	their	studies,	they	should	feel	free	to	see	me
after	class.”
“Singular	they”	is	gradually	becoming	accepted	as	the	norm,	especially	in
instances	with	indefinite	pronouns	that	sound	plural	but	are	grammatically
singular	(like	anyone	in	the	example	above).	However,	it	is	still	considered
incorrect	by	many	writers	and	writing	guides,	especially	in	American	English.
Previously,	it	was	standard	practice	to	simply	use	the	masculine	third-person
singular	forms	(he,	him,	his,	himself),	but	this	is	now	seen	as	being	potentially
sexist.	Likewise,	using	only	the	feminine	third-person	singular	would	be
exclusionary,	and	mixing	him	and	her	throughout	a	piece	of	writing	would	be
confusing.
Therefore,	in	formal	or	professional	writing,	the	best	form	to	use	is	“he	or	she”
or	“him	or	her,”	or	else	simply	to	rewrite	the	sentence	to	avoid	sounding
cluttered	or	awkward.	In	informal	writing	or	speech,	though,	using	“singular
they”	is	generally	OK.
Quiz
(answers	start	on	page	610)
1.	Which	of	the	following	is	an	appropriate	third-person	plural	pronoun	to	use
when	talking	about	more	than	one	girl	or	woman?
a)	Hers
b)	Herselves