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c4a1bz3.htf
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1997-01-20
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C4A1bz3
Personal Pronoun with Indefinite Pronoun
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When the antecedent for a personal pronoun is an indefinite
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pronoun, the two pronouns must agree in number: singular
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indefinite pronouns take singular personal pronouns, plural
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indefinite pronouns take plural personal pronouns.
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Since indefinite pronouns (everyone, anyone, etc.) do not
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reflect gender and personal pronouns (him, her, etc.) do,
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agreement can sometimes be a problem:
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Everybody in class brought
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his
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lunch on "bag day."
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If everyone in class is not male, we may prefer the
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construction below.
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Everybody in class brought
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his or her
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lunch on
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"bag day."
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The construction above is awkward. In spoken English, we
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sometimes get around the problem by using a plural personal
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pronoun:
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Everybody in class brought
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their
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lunch on "bag day."
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Using their to mean his or her is considered incorrect. The
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best solution in may be to reword the sentence using a noun
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rather than an indefinite pronoun:
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The students in class brought their lunches on
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"bag day."
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