The Trouble with Pronouns

 Did you ever wonder who makes all the crazy rules and exceptions to rules for grammar in the English language? As it turns out, grammar books do not actually impose rules on the English language, but rather reflect what most educated people are already doing. In other words, grammar “rules” change over time because they are influenced by other languages and cultures, new technologies, and even politics! The problem with pronouns is that we are in a time of transition. Prior to 1970, the pronoun “he” was used to refer to all hypothetical humans. For example, “If a student wants to succeed, he will need to manage his time wisely.” This was based on the idea that the word “man” was short for “human” or “mankind.” However, the feminist movement beginning in the 1970s began to influence the use of pronouns by suggesting that the use of the hypothetical pronoun “he” excluded women. Because of this, it became more accepted to use “he or she” when referring to a hypothetical person. For example, “If a medical student wants to improve his or her marketability, he or she should select a specialty that is in demand.” Because using “he or she” and “his or her” are more complicated and wordy than “he,” students have resisted this change, opting instead to use the word “they” to refer to a hypothetical individual. However, this usage is incorrect because “they” is a plural pronoun. For instance, “The people in the audience could not believe what they were seeing,” is correct because people is a plural noun replaced by the pronoun they. But… “A child should be respectful to their parents,” is incorrect because child is singular, and their is plural. More recently, the culture has shifted further, to the point where people no longer agree on what a gender is, and how many there actually are! For this reason, even the use of “he or she” has fallen out of favor among some people. So how can a student avoid the problem with pronouns? The best way is to use plural nouns whenever possible when discussing hypothetical people. For instance, “A child should be respectful to his or her parents,” can be changed to “Children should be respectful to their parents.” Most of the time, this works out well. However, there are instances in which you may need to discuss a singular, hypothetical person. In these cases, restructuring the sentence to avoid pronouns altogether is the best solution. For example: “This year’s recipient of Nobel prize should be exceptional among his peers.” (Incorrect because the recipient may be female) “This year’s recipient of the Nobel prize should be exceptional among their peers.” (Incorrect because recipient is singular and their is plural) “This year’s recipient of the Nobel prize should be exceptional among his or her peers.” (Correct, but no longer advisable because it assumes the traditional gender definitions) The sentence can be structured to avoid pronouns altogether: “This year’s recipient of the Nobel prize should be an exceptional individual.” OR a neutral-gender pronoun can be used: “A recipient of the Nobel prize should be exceptional among one’s peers. Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to: