Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[whatdaheck]

Hey there!
I've got one confusion...
When you say ''everyone considers his own burden heavy".. or any senence like this... Is the use of HIS, ok?
Like with everyone HIS is safe to be used? Is this grammatically correct?
Thanks in advance!

[CP]

Yes and no.

It is grammatically correct, because everyone is third person singular, and so is his. He / him / his is the closest thing we have to gender-neutral pronouns when referring to people. If it were something inanimate, you could say, for example: "Every city deserves its own opera house."

It is not, however, politically correct, because using he / him / his completely ignores the females of the world, and is thought to contribute to thinking of women as second-class citizens. So people will use the gender-neutral pronouns they / them / their; others will switch between he / him / his and she / her / her, or use only she / her / her, trying to get even for centuries of neglect.

The problem with they / them / their is that it sounds wrong in the singular. It is no more correct than, "Every city deserves their own opera house."

I've even heard such silly things as, "Every person who gives birth loves their baby." How about this: "Each person should do it their self." Mamma mia!
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[whatdaheck]

Hi CP!
That means I better stick with the use of "His"..at the same time, being a girl, don't want to neglect females though
Thanks anyway

[Lorikeet]

[CP]

Yes, true. In fact, I usually use "his or her / he or she / him or her" when it is a gender-neutral situation. But it would be easier if we had a single word that worked when specifying gender is not crucial.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb