3 ms·

Nah, it's exceedingly common to use "they" as the indefinite gender singular. I remember seeing this in the 90s. Example: "If a person wishes to avoid jail, t

by na85 4y ago

Nah, it's exceedingly common to use "they" as the indefinite gender singular. I remember seeing this in the 90s. Example: "If a person wishes to avoid jail, they would be wise not to commit crimes." No other word except the gross "he/she" construction makes grammatical sense in lieu of "they".

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
IncRnd 4y ago
- na85 4y ago
  That's not the same sentence, now is it?
  - IncRnd 4y ago
    It's a more pithy sentence that conveys the same information.
    - na85 4y ago
      Despite this new revelation that it's possible to rephrase a sentence to avoid using a word, that's completely orthogonal to my point which is that "they" has been used to indicate the singular person of indeterminate gender for at least 30 years. I'm honestly not sure what you're trying to demonstrate.
- shreyshnaccount 4y ago
- SirSavary 4y ago
  That's a completely different sentence? This is like arguing that passive voice is always correct and one should never use active voice under any circumstance.
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    Maybe look up the definition of "passive voice". It is probably not what you imagine.
  - IncRnd 4y ago
    > This is like arguing that passive voice is always correct and one should never use active voice under any circumstance. No. It is nothing like that at all.