She,he or they?

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#56528 Sun, 21 Nov 04 01:09 PM

What pronoun is grammatically correct to use when I don't know whether that person is male or female?

e.g

'Everybody knows that (they are/he is/she is) unique.'
'You can try to ask a friend if (they/he/she) can help'

I have noticed that they is commonly used, however in the second sentence
it would look strange.

Is it correct to use it in both sentences?

Guest

Nouns, Pronouns

Mister Micawber

#56539 Sun, 21 Nov 04 01:52 PM

Yes, correct in both, and it is becoming more and more formally acceptable (it has been informally so for some time), because we have no other adequate pronoun for a third person singular human being of unspecified sex. In your second sentence it may seem a little strange, I think, because presumably the interlocutors would know what sex the friend is.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

Veteran Member (22,680)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

Nouns, Pronouns