4 ms·
Like the subtle use of the word 'they', incorrect grammatically,correct politically
by darwinGod 16y ago
Like the subtle use of the word 'they', incorrect grammatically,correct politically
- metageek 16y agoUsing "they" for an ambiguous singular pronoun is perfectly good English. It was deprecated by Victorian grammarians who wanted English to be like Latin (the same people who ordered us not to boldly split infinitives).
- Symmetry 16y agoWhat do you mean grammatically incorrect? The singular they was used by Shakespeare for heaven's sake, its not some recent invention. Rather, the prejudice against the singular they (and the split infinitive) stem from when people looked down on ways in which English deviated from the rules of Latin. Personally, I think its silly to call any construct thats been in use for hundreds of years among educated people% and serves a useful purpose "ungrammatical". %The Chicago Manual of style lists "Addison, Austen, Chesterfield, Fielding, Ruskin, Scott, and Shakespeare."
- darwinGod 16y agoDidn't realize this usage of singular they was correct-thanks for pointing that out! :-)