Some other posters here have given examples. There have been a number of efforts to create new pronouns that would be gender neutral. Retrieved 23:46:13 UTC, and shown here under the Fair Use Exception. Used with reference to a person whose sense of personal identity does not correspond to conventional sex and gender distinctions, and who has typically asked to be referred to as they (rather than as he or she).Ĭopyright © 2019 Oxford University Press. In the 21st century, other th– pronouns (and the possessive adjective their) are sometimes used to refer to a named individual, so as to avoid revealing or making an assumption about that person’s gender cf. so as to make a general reference to such an individual without specifying gender.
someone, a person, the student), used esp.
With an antecedent referring to an individual generically or indefinitely (e.g. Sometimes, but not always, used to avoid having to specify the gender(s) of the individual(s) being referred to cf. With an antecedent that is grammatically singular, but refers collectively to the members of a group, or has universal reference (e.g. Here’s the Middle English version: ‘Hastely hiȝed eche … þei neyȝþed so neiȝh… þere william & his worþi lef were liand i-fere.’ In modern English, that’s: ‘Each man hurried… till they drew near… where William and his darling were lying together.’…Ģa. Except for the old-style language of that poem, its use of singular they to refer to an unnamed person seems very modern. The Oxford English Dictionary traces singular they back to 1375, where it appears in the medieval romance William and the Werewolf. Use of they to refer to a singular antecedent has sometimes been considered erroneous. In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun. Per the OED the pronoun they has these specific subsenses for the various scenarios under discussion here:
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Here for the benefit of those who lack access to its paywalled source are the full and complete operative senses from the Oxford English Dictionary. Use his or her: Each student should save his or her questions until the end.Use the formal one: One should save one's questions until the end.Use a plural noun: Students should save their questions until the end.Some rewording strategies that can be employed: If you are anxious about being criticized (for what is in fact a perfectly grammatical construction) I would advise rewording to avoid having to use a gender-neutral singular third-person pronoun. However, “singular they” also enjoys a long history of criticism. Singular they enjoys a long history of usage in English and can be used here: "Each student should save their questions until the end."