Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 14:16:40 -0500
From: wachal robert s rwachal[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BLUE.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU
Subject: copy-ed re web usage urrl (fwd)
COPYEDITING-L Digest 1088
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Date: Thu, 21 Sep 1995 23:09:24 -0500
From: "Keith Calvert Ivey" kcivey[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cpcug.org
To: COPYEDITING-L[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cornell.edu
Subject: Re: "they" as the new gender neutral pronoun
Message-ID: 199509220307.XAA23057[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cpcug.org
Jordana Kanee Signer jkaneesigner[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]inforamp.net writes:
Personally, I think that "they" should always take a plural
verb. Other languages that use pronouns interchangeably as
either singular or plural, depending on the context, always
conjugate the verb in the plural. E.g. "Vous" in French is
always conjugated the same way (root + "ez", e.g. "chantez"),
You don't need to go to other languages for examples. The
English pronoun "you" was originally plural only. Now it's
plural and singular, but the verb is still plural. I see no
reason to believe that "they" will behave differently if it
becomes standard as a singular. "They is" doesn't seem to be
catching on.
The only change I think likely with singular "they" is the
development of the reflexive "themself" (versus "themselves"
in the plural), parallel to "yourself".
Keith C. Ivey kcivey[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cpcug.org
Washington, DC
English Usage Page http://www.webcom.com/kcivey/engusage/
The Editorial Eye http://www.eei-alex.com/eye/
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End of COPYEDITING-L Digest 1088
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