Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yoshi-pooh]

Hi, everyone.


I happened to find the sentense below.

"There is no comforting a child who has lost its mother."

I think the "its" should be "their" or "his or her".

Or "its" can be acceptable?

I'd appreciate your rhelp.

yoshi-pooh

[2006]

1...sentence

2..."its" is very acceptable but some people use "their". "his" and "her" are not very good because they exclude one of the sexes.

3...''Or 'its' can be acceptable?'' is not correct question grammar. You should say 0r can "its" be acceptable? or 0r is "its" acceptable?
Better still, delete 'Or' because you made a new sentence.

[Lorikeet]

I think he wasn't suggesting either "his" or "her" but rather "his or her" which I find quite suitable.

[2006]

Yes, I misread the quotation marks. "his or her" is very acceptable, although many people will prefer "its" or "their" because they prefer to use one word rather than three.