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Ask for help > Can you answer please
Can you answer please
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Pretty3
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Can you answer please
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Hi, Why is the word they used although the subject is singular in the following sentence? If a teacher has to leave the classroom, they may ask another teacher to cover for them until they get back. What is the rule? Thank you |
10 Dec 2023
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douglas
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These days "they" is used in the singular for gender neutrality. (Instead of he/she or s/he) |
11 Dec 2023
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spinney
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Exactly as Douglas said. This is for addressing people whose gender is unknown. We do not know if the teacher is a man or a woman so, we use they for the subject pronoun and them for the object pronoun but the verb form remains in the third person singular. This is not a new thing, and you can see examples of it in 18th and 19th-century literature. |
14 Dec 2023
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cunliffe
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Yes and it avoids having to say he or she, him or her every time, which is cumbersome. |
18 Dec 2023
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30 Dec 2023
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