When I was on the train yesterday, I heard someone say this: “Someone left their bag on the train.”
Can you find anything wrong with the sentence?
If you looked in a traditional English grammar book, you would learn that the sentence should be, “Someone left his bag on the train.” The rule is to use the (1) pronoun “he” when the gender of a person is not known.
But, if you asked native English speakers if there is something wrong with the sentence, many would probably answer no.
The pronoun “their” is generally plural. The speaker was talking about just one person. However, American English speakers use “their” and “they” as singular pronouns all the time in spoken English. They use it when the (2) of a person is not known. They also use it when they do not want to say the gender.
Writers also try to use both “he” and “she” to show they do not (3) against females. They might also use “he/she” or “him/her” instead of choosing one singular pronoun.
Another approach to this problem is to use a gender-neutral pronoun - a word that does not show gender. One place where these pronouns became popular is in (4) or online communities.
In Sweden, two nursery schools have used the (5) pronoun, “hen” since 2012. The Swedish government started using “hen” this year and added it to the official dictionary.
A student organization at the University of Wisconsin recommends using gender-neutral pronouns like those in the following chart to respect (6) individuals.
Teresa Schmedding is an editor at the Daily Herald Media Group and a member of the American (7) Society (ACES.)
At a recent meeting of the (8) in Pittsburgh, she says some editors discussed the use of the pronoun “they.” Ms. Schmedding says some members were unhappy with the use of “his” or “her” in the stories.
"Language is a constantly evolving thing and we need to (9) . … It has become so common, in our language now, that people frequently use the singular ‘they’ all the time. My question is, what’s the harm?”
Writers look to books like “The Chicago Manual of Style” for the rules. This book says to use a plural noun, if possible, and to avoid using the singular pronouns "him" or "her" when the gender of the subject is not stated.
For example, the sentence
“Each student brought his or her book to class” would change to “The students brought their books to class.”
Ms. Schmedding says the most important thing for writers is to make the language easy to understand.
“The overriding issue is (10) . We want people to understand what we are saying. So if people already understand when you use the singular they what you mean, why make up a new word?”
A look back at the history of English shows that great writers used they as a singular pronoun. Chaucer, writing in the 14th century, used it, as did Shakespeare, Jane Austin, and George Bernard Shaw.
Then in the late 18th century, grammar writers said they should not be used as a singular pronoun.
Today, many English speakers are saying that, “if everyone uses it, they must be right.”
上期答案解析: 1、significance
n. 意义;意思;重要性
名词复数:significances
[例句]Today packaging also has significance as a marketing tool..
如今包装做为一个营销工具也具有非凡的意义。 2、heartbroken
adj. 悲伤的
v. 心碎,断肠( heartbreak的过去分词 )
[例句]Sitting near me were an angry boy and his heartbroken mother..
坐在我边上的是一个大发脾气的男孩和他伤心的母亲。 3、unconscionable
adj. 昧着良心的,不合理的,过分的;没良心
[例句]I suffered an unconscionable excess of resources and was looking for some way to redeem myself morally..
“资源的过度使用让我良心不安,因此我希望找到某个方法来完成道德的自我救赎。 4、hesitant
adj. 踌躇的;犹豫的;迟疑的;吞吞吐吐的
[例句]This experience has made beijing hesitant to crank up another big stimulus..
这个经历使北京方面在出台又一轮大规模刺激的问题上有所犹豫。 5、encounter
vt. 不期而遇;遭遇;对抗
n. 相遇,碰见;遭遇战;对决,冲突
vi. 碰见,尤指不期而遇
[例句]Investors may encounter other unexpected difficulties..
投资者或许还会遇到其它意想不到的困难。 6、embodied
v. 表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 );象征;包括;包含
[例句]The system embodied google 's approach to computer science..
这个系统体现了谷歌应用计算机科学的方式。 7、slacking off
放松;释放;下钻遇阻
[例句]They 're slacking off from last year.three hours to go..
他们从上年开始就在偷懒了。还有三个小时。 8、recommit
vt. 再委托,再犯
第三人称单数:recommits;过去分词:recommitted;现在分词:recommitt...
[例句]But a slip need not be a fall ; pick yourself up and recommit to your resolution..
但是一次的过失绝对不可以化为堕落;打起精神,重新面对你的决议。 9、tragedy
n. 悲剧,惨剧;悲剧文学;悲剧理论,悲剧表演艺术;悲剧式作品
名词复数:tragedies
[例句]The ongoing disaster in japan is an unprecedented human tragedy..
在日本持续发生的灾难是一场史无前例的人类悲剧。 10、fighting
adj. 战斗的;好战的;作战用的;适于打斗的
n. 战斗;斗志;宣战言论;微小但值得一搏的机会
v. 战斗( fight的现在分词 );斗争;打架;吵架
[例句]The scale of fighting is much smaller today..
如今的战争规模也没那时候大。