Can anyone please tell me which of these sentences is better when talking about a group of people. Is sentence b grammatically correct?
a. Everyone has his/her book with him/her.
b. Everyone has their books with them.
Thanks!
Kat
a. Everyone has his/her book with him/her.
b. Everyone has their books with them.
Thanks!
Kat
Sentence b is fine. "their" and "them" have been used with that function for centuries! Here they are used to mean "his or her" and "him or her".
CJ
CJ
Comments
Yes, that's what i thought. But i keep coming across his/her in such sentences so i was just wondering if this is grammatically better. Anyway, thanks CalifJim!
Kat
That was before feminism.
In the early post-feminist era, the (politically correct) solution was "his or her" and "him or her".
Now the solution is closer to what people had been doing instinctively for years and years: "their" and "them".
CJ
Sometimes referencing both genders becomes terribly awkward. For example: "When talking to your top student, ask him or her if he or she would be willing to read his or her essay to the class." As a grammarian, I grit my teeth at sentences such as "...ask them if they would read their essay..." BUT, it is less cumbersome than the he/she stuff.