"Visit his or her campsite"pic.twitter.com/2Qwyuzhdc0
Because "their" is the plural possessive and should not be used to refer to the singular. "His or her" is ugly though, I agree. I prefer the neutral masculine form.
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Their can be plural possessive or singular referring to someone of undefined gender
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I mean TECHNICALLY the singular they isn’t acceptable grammar, but it’s in common use and really should be permissible at this point, it’s infinitely better than the alternatives (his-or-her, using He as gender default, etc)
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I mean it literally is its in the dictionary
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Dictionaries categorize slang all the time, and that’s what the “official” grammar experts categorize the singular they as
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Slang is still legitimate grammar
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Conversationally, sure. But “proper” English still doesn’t allow for slang terms
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Y'know what used to be "plural only" as well? The word "you". Anyone with any understanding of language history knows that language changes, meaning there's no such thing as "proper" english.
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My 66 year old linguistics professor readily accepted "they" in the singular although he grew up with it being plural
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there is no such thing as a neutral masculine. it is masculine or it is neutral masculine is not the default.
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Technically "you" is plural, too, so I guess nobody should be using that.
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Thou hittest the nail on the head.
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oh no! looks like someone forgot their wallet
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look at that! it's their used in a singular context and it still makes sense! let go of your masculine preferences for a better world!
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and if you can refer to a single person with their in that context, i guess you can do it in any context if a person asks you to! it's just being polite! easy!
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"Singular they" is old as dirt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Older_usage …
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try a week of the neutral feminine and see how it feels. i bet it changes your mind about what is actually neutral
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Damn how wrong can you be: they has been used for the singular for hundreds of years. Also masculine isn't neutral. That's an oxymoron
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Singular they has been in common use early as 1500s. Language changes over time- while grammarians may consider it an issue, it's used tons
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People literally use they/them/their CONSTANTLY to refer to a person when identity or gender are unknown. It’s extremely common. Language is defined by its usage anyway. People aren’t academic papers so the dictionary doesn’t mean shit.
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The word they (with its counterparts them, their, and themselves) as a singular pronoun to refer to a person of unspecified gender has been used since at least the 16th century.https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/they
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