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It does change the story. “He” excludes 50% of potential perpetrators. Using “they” does not.
by zackkatz 7y ago
It does change the story. “He” excludes 50% of potential perpetrators. Using “they” does not.
- nkrisc 7y agoNo. Any reasonable reader can conclude that the author does not know the identity of the perpetrator thus "he" is simply a placeholder for an unknown person. Yes, they author could have used, "they" instead, but they didn't. Hardly a mortal sin.
- jfk13 7y agoNo, it doesn't. Excerpted from the Oxford English Dictionary (the full entry being far too long for a comment here): he, pron., n.1, and adj. A. pron. The subjective case of the masculine third person singular pronoun. I. As personal pronoun. ... 2. ... b. In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender. Cf. they pron. 2. (http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/84893#eid302969944 http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/84893#eid302969944)