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Is it common? I have never seen it in singular context in English grammar textbooks.
by hackonr 7y ago
Is it common? I have never seen it in singular context in English grammar textbooks.
- numpad0 7y agoActually incorrect in textbook sense, but widely accepted in recent years to avoid specifying gender.
- C1sc0cat 7y agoFor example "they must have forgotten to add the catch all redirect in the .htaccess file"
- nicoburns 7y agoAlso in less recent years. They has always been used in the singular in cases where gender is not apparent (e.g. with babies)
- regularfry 7y agoAnd also where it is: There's not a man I meet but doth salute me As if I were their well-acquainted friend - A Comedy of Errors, Act IV, Scene 3
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- regularfry 7y agoWidely accepted back at least as far as Shakespeare. The objection that it's incorrect is what's recent.
- Bjartr 7y agoEnglish grammar textbooks started excluding it because doing so made the language more like Latin and this was considered a good thing.