he/she vs. they, etc.

[Debbi]

How do y'all fix this kind of common error? "When a person chooses a car, they usually look at price first."
Do you choose a gender and stick with it throughout the piece? "he usually..."
Do you switch back and forth with genders?
Do you put "he or she" or "he/she"?
Do youalways refer to people in the plural "When people choose a car...".
Do you just rewrite the sentence so the question doesn't arise? "When choosing a car, most people..." Sometimes it doesn't seem possible to rewrite it like that.
Do you use "one", like "When choosing a car, one usually looks at price first." This doesn't sound right in American English.

Please give me your approach. This keeps cropping up when I'm writing an article.

Thanks,

Debbi

[Lysis]

I try to default to second person. I write a lot of tech, so I say "the user."

If I need to use a pronoun, I go with "he." I've had editors change my pronoun choice to "she" and that annoys me. :-/
I'm a female, but c'mon, I'm not suggesting we give up our right to vote by defaulting to the masculine pronoun.

[JD]

I quite like using 'one' when referring to a person but have been advised that it can sound a bit too formal and fussy (which I agree with in some instances).

While I don't mind reading 'they/them/their' used to refer to a single personal pronoun so as to get round the gender issue, the grammarian in me won't let me use this approach! Therefore, I alternate genders in paras: I'll start off referring to 'him' and then in the next para switch to 'her'. I'm not too sure that this doesn't sometimes confuse the reader though...

Jane

[Zabrina]

How do y'all fix this kind of common error? "When a person chooses a car, they usually look at price first."
Do you choose a gender and stick with it throughout the piece? "he usually..."
Do you switch back and forth with genders?
Do you put "he or she" or "he/she"?
Do youalways refer to people in the plural "When people choose a car...".
Do you just rewrite the sentence so the question doesn't arise? "When choosing a car, most people..." Sometimes it doesn't seem possible to rewrite it like that.
Do you use "one", like "When choosing a car, one usually looks at price first." This doesn't sound right in American English.

Please give me your approach. This keeps cropping up when I'm writing an article.

Thanks,

Debbi

You've just named one of my biggest "monsters" I wrestle with! I was taught that it's wrong to use "they", and that I should use "he or she", or "he" instead, but this just becomes clunky or doesn't "seem right" sometimes.

I default to rewriting the sentence to avoid the issue, but sometimes that doesn't work so well. Next, I'll try using "he or she" and see if it becomes clunky. If so, I'll pick a gender (nearly always masculine, since that's grammatically correct and to heck with political correctness) and stick with it. My last resort is using "one". I don't like it, for the same reasons.

[Ed]

Please make the pronoun agree in number with its antecedent. The follow blog post discusses this issue and includes links to in-depth discussion on the subject:

http://www.constant-content.com/blog/20 ... -pronouns/

The following blog post also discusses this issue:

http://www.constant-content.com/forum/v ... oun#p32983

Thanks,
Ed

[Lysis]

Happy Sunday, Ed.

I thought you might appreciate knowing that "THIER" is spelled wrong in that post.

[Ed]

Noted. Thanks!

[HayleyWriter]

I have found another solution. I tend to write to the reader, using "you" and "your". My version of the sentence: "When a person chooses a car, they usually look at price first." would be something like:

"When choosing a car, consider your price range or budget first." OR

"When you choose a car, your first consideration is the price."

I find it easier to write when I imagine someone reading the article, plus keeping to "you" solves the cumbersome they, he, she problem. I certainly find "you" easier to write and read than the formal toned "one". Of course, this would probably entail changing your entire article to match, rather than just one sentence.

The other option is to choose a gender specific audience. This works particularly well for relationship articles, where you can speak effectively to one specific gender. "When choosing a husband, look for these charactisterics: he should be immaculate, caring, and have plenty of money. Look for a man who dresses well and cares for himself, so he will be likely to take care of you too." (yeah - in my dreams!).

If you are writing for an audience that is typically male or typically female, it is easier to choose a single pronoun to stick with. I have written and seen articles that use he in one paragraph and she in the next, but I tend to find this more confusing as a reader. It is an option, as Jane has suggested, but one I would use infrequently.

Hope this helps!

Hayley