Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site cadovax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!zehntel!tektronix!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrb!trwrba!cadovax!jefff From: jefff@cadovax.UUCP (Jeffery H. Fields) Newsgroups: net.women,net.nlang Subject: Genderless Pronouns Message-ID: <354@cadovax.UUCP> Date: Tue, 8-Jan-85 17:56:19 EST Article-I.D.: cadovax.354 Posted: Tue Jan 8 17:56:19 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jan-85 01:23:01 EST Organization: Contel Cado, Torrance, CA Lines: 20 Xref: watmath net.women:4023 net.nlang:2365 The suggestion of using genderless pronouns like "they" and "their" instead of "he/she" and "they/their" is lauded by some as a positive social action to eliminate sexism. Some linguists and English purists point to the grammatical error of using a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent in doing so. There is a grammatical solution to this dilemma that has not appeared on the net. This solution would involve using "one" and the possessive "one's" for a singular antecedent and using "they" and "their" for plural antecedents. -- Jeff Fields {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!jefff Pax Vobiscum.