Quote:
Originally Posted by VydorScope
In the case when the gender is not known because the person that fits the pronoun is not known, then the choice of "they" appears to be what American English is adopting. For example:
If someone gets sick, they should see a doctor.
instead of
If someone gets sick, he should see a doctor.
which was the proper way not all that long ago.
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It is generally easy to do a workaround without resorting to the clunky
he or she or the sexist
he. For example:
- Someone who gets sick should see a doctor.
- If you get sick, you should see a doctor.
It's OK to use
they as singular in informal speech, but in writing? It's like nails on a chalkboard.