Re: Grammar

[Richard Stephens <richard.stephens@converteam.com>]

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>
> On 26-7-2010 11:48, John Haltiwanger wrote:
>
>  It seems the most successful/widely adopted form is to vary from 'he'
>> to 'she' (so that in one sentence you use one, in the next another).
>> Some authors even change the gender within a sentence. This method was
>> adopted because 'one' (the "real" correct unisex pronoun) is just too
>> awkward for extended use. The morphographic he/she/he/she method reads
>> surprisingly well.
>>
>
> maybe male authors could use he and female authors could use she
> consistently (or we could get accustomed to 'it')
>
> Hans
>
>
The trend that I have noticed (and which trips off the tongue most easily
for British english-speakers) is to use the plural 'they' in place of the
singular pronoun 'he' or 'she'. This avoids having to choose! For purists,
it rankles, but then we have to accept that the language will change.
Personally, for serious writing, I use the rather cumbersome, but
grammatically correct, 'he or she'. I personally don't like 'he/she'. The
use of 'one' as a pronoun in British english is pretty much dead and sounds
very stilted to us - only the Queen and old school masters still use it!
Using 'it' is not an option.

Best regards,

Richard

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