From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Mon Mar 04 2002 - 20:45:41 MST
Lee Daniel Crocker wrote,
> > What is wrong with:
> > I taught them to think for theirself yesterday but when I asked
> > them they had forgotten.
>
> Nothing, if you don't care whether your listener thinks you're talking
> about one person or more than one. Otherwise, what you gain in gender
> equality you sacrifice in clarity.
Actually, I think this is a problem in this example only because the pronoun
wasn't defined before it was used. A more clearly-defined reference would
sound like, "I taught this person to think for themselves yesterday, but
when I asked them they had forgotten."
I prefer to use plurals for my own use:
- I gave him his hat and he took it as his.
- I gave her her hat and she took it as hers.
- I gave one one's hat and one took it as one's.
- I gave him or her his or her hat and he or she took it as his or hers.
- I gave them their hat and they took it as theirs.
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> Principal Security Consultant <www.Newstaff.com>
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