"He/She" or "They"? "His/Her" or "Their"?
He/She or They? His/Her or Their?
Writers often ask whether they should refer to a singular person whose gender is unknown as "he," "she," "he or she," "he/she," or "they." Look at this example:- Each team leader is responsible for his / her / his or her / his/her / their team. He / She / He or She / He/She / They must report to the race marshal by 9 o'clock.


Choosing the Right Pronouns for a Person Whose Gender Is Unknown
When your singular person could be male or female, you have four options. (There used to be five options.) Here are the four acceptable options and the now-outdated fifth option listed from best practice to worst:(Option 1) Reword your sentence to make it all plural.
- All team leaders are responsible for their teams. They must report to the race marshal by 9 o'clock.
- Each team leader is responsible for their team. They must report to the race marshal by 9 o'clock.
(Option 3) Use "his or her" or "his/her."
- Each team leader is responsible for his or her team. He or she must report to the race marshal by 9 o'clock.
- Each team leader is responsible for his team. He must report to the race marshal by 9 o'clock.
- Each team leader is responsible for his team. He must report to the race marshal by 9 o'clock.
Why Do People Dislike a Singular "They" or "Their"?
Wherever there's a pronoun, which includes the personal pronouns (e.g., he, she, they) and the possessive determiners (e.g., his, her. their), then its antecedent (the thing it refers to) will not be far away. Look at these examples. The pronouns are highlighted and their antecedents are in bold.- Please ask your guest to collect their coat before leaving.
- Each of them gave their opinion. (Here, the antecedent of "their" is "each," which is singular.)
Below is the list of personal pronouns (in their various forms) showing "they" as a plural. This table is repeated in thousands of grammar books, very few of which recognize that "they" can be used as a singular.
Person | Subjective Case | Objective Case | Possessive Case Possessive Adjective | Possessive Case Absolute Possessive Pronouns |
---|---|---|---|---|
First Person Singular | I | me | my | mine |
Second Person Singular | you | you | your | yours |
Third Person Singular | he/she/it | him/her/it | his/her/its | his/hers/its |
First Person Plural | we | us | our | ours |
Second Person Plural | you | you | your | yours |
Third Person Plural | they | them | their | theirs |
This table is the basis of the argument for those who dislike using "they" as a singular. It is true to say that grammar books haven't caught up yet. But, remember that, nowadays, "they" can have a singular antecedent. This allowance is necessary to cover the English language's lack of a singular gender-free pronoun that can be used for people.
More Examples
Here are some more examples of sentences featuring gender-free antecedents (bold) and related pronouns (highlighted):(Option 1) Reword your sentence to make it all plural.
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Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?