[lit-ideas] Re: grades & kleenex
- From: JulieReneB@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 22:11:47 EDT
I think that the issue here (or at least my issue) is that the teacher wrote
"he/she" in the first half of the second and "they" in the second half. If
there had been some consistency, it would have been okay either way; but to use
a singular in the first, then a substitutionary plural pronoun in the same
sentece, grates. "Effects" instead of "affects" grieves me. And "they are
concerned how the action will effect others or the situation." lacked any
reference
(though I did not give enough context to make that clear) -- "the action"
leapt out of the blue and there was no appropriate reason to use a definite
article. Granted, I write sloppily here, and in my notes to myself, and in
scribbled notes to family members. But if I'm preparing text for students to
copy,
memorize, and spit back to me it's another matter. The grades-for-kleenex
issue does not seem to me entirely unrelated to teachers not knowing their
basic
subject matter.
Julie Krueger
========Original Message========
Subj:[lit-ideas] Re: grades & kleenex
Date:5/6/2004 7:34:01 PM Central Daylight Time
From:ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent on:
on 5/6/04 5:17 PM, Judith Evans at judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> I said the teacher's words were
>
> "an attempt, albeit flawed, to cope with the problem." and
>
> "'They' third person singular is perfectly acceptable, and not only of
> late."
>
> That you read this as an endorsement of
>
>> He/she agreeing with "they"?
>
> is perhaps your problem.
>
Could you provide an example of the acceptable use you have in mind?
What is he/she if not third person singular? And if it is replaced in a
second iteration in a sentence with "they," I would say there is a problem
of agreement. What am I not understanding?
David Ritchie
Portland, Oregon
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
i
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
