>Could you provide an example of the acceptable use you have in mind? How about some examples? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Now this king did keep a great house, that every body might come and take their meat freely" (Sir Philip Sydney, Arcadia); "There's not a man I meet but doth salute me,/As if I were their well-acquainted friend" (Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors); "Some more audience than a mother,/Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear/The speech" (Shakespeare, Hamlet); "If ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their tresspasses..." (King James Bible, Matthew 18:35); "Who is in love with her? Who makes you their confidant?" (Jane Austen, Emma); "A person can't help their birth" (Thackeray, Vanity Fair); "'If everybody minded their own business,' the Duchess said in a hoarse growl, 'the world would go round a deal faster than it does'"("Lewis Carroll," Alice's Adventures in Wonderland); "No man goes to battle to be killed.--But they do get killed" (George Bernard Shaw, Three Plays for Puritans); "He's one of those guys who's always patting themself on the back" (J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye); "I had to decide: Is this person being irrational or is he right? Of course, they were often right" (Robert Burchfield, former Editor in Chief of the Oxford English dictionaries). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Judy Evans jaye@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of David Ritchie Sent: 07 May 2004 01:30 To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: grades & kleenex 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html