In article <slrnene5e3.lkm.chris@ccserver.keris.net>,
Chris Croughton <chris@keristor.net> wrote:
> I dislike the use of singular 'their' because it grammatically implies
> the plural, and whichever way it is used seems wrong:
>
> "They were playing with their ball."
> "They was playing with their ball."
True in those examples, however:
The child ran home to get their ball.
or
The author signed copies of their book until well after closing time.
Oddly, these scan all right. But perhaps that's just because I grew up
when this was the preferred substitution for "his" -- sort of the first
evolution in an attempt to find a comfortable word.
I tend to agree with you about the chip on the shoulder, though. "His"
was good enough for a thousand years or so of written English, it can be
good for another 50 years or so until after I'm gone... :)
--
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