4 ms·
It's not only distracting but unnecessary. The English language has a perfectly usable way to avoid gender-specific pronouns: just use the plural. "A good CEO k
by alabut 16y ago
It's not only distracting but unnecessary. The English language has a perfectly usable way to avoid gender-specific pronouns: just use the plural. "A good CEO knows his/her values" becomes "a good CEO knows their values".
- ghshephard 16y agoOr drop the gender altogether: "A good CEO knows their values." Grammar cops hate the use of the collective pronoun where a singular would be more correct, but I see it used often enough that it's slowly working it's way into the English language. In Ben's case, he's making a political statement, so the use of "her" is appropriate in that instance though.
- ZoFreX 16y ago> it's slowly working it's way into the English language It's actually been in English for a pretty long time, there is plenty of precedent. The people that complain loudest about grammar "mistakes" are often the least equipped to talk about them.
- harryh 16y agoYou're missing the point.
- aneth 16y agoI'm not opposed to this, however I didn't realized having your pronouns disagree in number with your nouns had become generally accepted.
- Natsu 16y agoA singular form of "they" has long been used in English writing. Even Shakespeare used it. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Singular_they https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Singular_they That said, constructions like "didn't realized" are best avoided.