Modern Grammar: Let’s Just Say “They” instead of “He or She,” Shall We?

What an adventure it has been after writing a simple post about spelling and grammar mistakes!

The continuing stream of hundreds of comments shows that grammar is a subject dear to the hearts of many.

It's been enlightening and entertaining to read the range of opinions, some quite vehement.

If you recall, the first article was written from my perspective as a recruiter and job search coach, and listed just seven of the pervasive errors I see in business correspondence.

But the conversation expanded to cover a litany of other pet peeves and gripes.

Did you miss the previous pieces? Here they are:

• 7 Spelling and Grammar Errors that Make You Look Dumb
• More Grammar Errors that Make You Look Dumb: The Readers Speak

My use of "they" instead of "he or she" seems controversial.

A number of commenters took issue with my style of using the pronoun "they" as a singular pronoun when someone's gender is unknown, rather than the awkward "he or she," "him or her" or the sexist default "he" or "his."

I thought the topic merited its own discussion.

Truth be told, I'm hoping I can convert some of you and together we can accelerate what I think is a much-needed evolutionary step in our language.

And if I don't convert you, at least you'll understand where I'm coming from.

My use of "they" instead of "he or she" is a choice, not an error.

When I wrote "the reader who shared about the tattoo they saw in a movie..." it wasn't an accident or lack of understanding of English grammar and pronouns that had me choose the plural word "they" to describe the singular reader.

I know the technically correct wording options.

I just don't want to write or speak that way.

English needs a gender-neutral singular pronoun, and I choose "they."

As we all know, English is a funny language, and one of its shortcomings is the lack of a gender-free singular pronoun.

In the Thai language (which I speak, albeit poorly), there is a pronoun pronounced "kao" which means he, she or they. It sure makes talking about people much easier.

The traditional assumption that "he" is inclusive is not acceptable to me.

One option we've been taught is that if the gender of the subject of the sentence is indeterminate, then you can just go ahead and use "he" or "his" and we'll all pretend that includes women, too.

Does anyone really believe that the word "he" describes both men and women? Of course not. "He" is a masculine pronoun, and I don't want to assume someone is a man.

Gender-neutral words are important when you have a commitment to equal opportunity.

As a recruiter, my job requires me to be gender-blind when selecting candidates and creating candidate profiles with hiring managers.

In those conversations, I need a simple gender-free pronoun to talk about an as-yet-unknown individual, and "they" does the job.

Many grammar experts support my choice.

Oxford Dictionaries offers a page about this tricky situation, and their experts agree that using he, his, him or himself when the subject is not identified as either male or female "is seen as outdated and sexist." (Emphasis mine.)

Oxford Dictionaries offers three possible solutions:

1. Use the wording "he or she" or "his or her" if you don't mind repeating this clumsy phrase. (Personally, I mind.) So one can write, "A blogger must be able to crank out his or her work quickly."
   
2. Reword the sentence to make the relevant noun plural. This is not possible in every situation. "Bloggers must be able to crank out their work quickly" works only if you're not talking about a specific gender-unknown blogger.
   
3. Use the plural pronoun despite the technicality that it refers back to a singular noun. "A blogger must be able to crank out their work quickly."
   

The Oxford article acknowledges that many people object to the third choice as ungrammatical, but they remind us that the use of plural pronouns is "a revival of a practice dating from the 16^th century. It's increasingly common in current English and is now widely accepted in both speech and writing." (Emphasis mine.)

My favorite grammarian, Grammar Girl, has an article about the dilemma, too.

She recaps the consensus as:

• "he or she" is awkward;
• assigning "he" or "she" when gender is unknown seems sexist;
• the hybrid "s/he" seems silly and awkward;
• switching between "he" and "she" is what one of her readers dubbed "whiplash grammar."

She called the use of "they" as a personal pronoun "the solution everyone loves to hate."

Grammar Girl admits that she usually tries to work around it by restructuring the sentence, but says "I will state for the record that I am a firm believer that someday "they" will be the acceptable choice for this situation."

She cites a number of credible references that will support this language shift, including Random House Dictionary and Fowler's Modern English Usage.

Language is a living thing, and it evolves and changes.

The continuing emergence of using the plural "they/their" to refer to an unknown gender singular person is one of those evolutions, and I'm part of it.

I guess you could call me a grammar progressive. Or maybe a grammactivist.

For those who don't agree I hope you still read me. But I am very comfortable with my style choice, and I'm stickin' to it.

Who else is on board?

Source Link: http://work.lifegoesstrong.com/modern-grammar-let-s-just-say-they-instead-he-or-she-shall-we

More Grammar Errors that Make You Look Dumb: The Readers Speak

My recent article, 7 Grammar Errors that Make You Look Dumb must have gotten reposted and retweeted somewhere, because the comments section is rather epic, as well as hilarious. With almost 250 comments so far, and counting, it's a wild ride.

Some of the comments are correct, some are completely off base, some are defiantly (and definitely) clueless, and some are rolling-on-the-floor-laughing-out-loud funny.

In case you don't have the time or patience to read them all, here are some highlights.

First, there were style complaints.

Some felt I should have said "7 Grammatical Errors" instead of "7 Grammar Errors," and one person even suggested that it was such a bad choice that it should be on David Letterman. Here's the deal: I chose the shorter word because it reads better in a headline, and it communicates just as clearly. I also knew it would draw comments. It worked.

Next, there were complaints that just because you make a grammar mistake, it doesn't mean you're stupid.

A few thought it was just mean and unfair to say someone is "dumb" or "stupid" because they make an error in grammar or spelling. I understand this, and think I was pretty clear that some brilliant people make some stupid mistakes, but the article is about grammatical errors in business writing that "make you look dumb." Whether you are actually stupid is not for me to judge.

And there were complaints that anything goes because language is fluid.

Yes, language constantly changes, but written business communication has higher standards than spoken communication. You can say whatever you want when you're speaking, but if you write for the corporate market, there often is a right way to say it.

Always remember context matters.

Remember, please, I am a career expert, not a schoolteacher. The context of this article is written business communication that might get someone to wondering if you communicate well enough to represent their business.

That said, here are more audience-choice mistakes that seem to drive a lot of people crazy.

• That / who

I regretted not including this in the first blog, as it really is one of my biggest pet peeves. We want to hire someone who is great at grammar, and we will buy books that we can use for reference. Use the word "who" when you are talking about people, and "that" when you're talking about objects.

• Me, myself and I

This one got a lot of enthusiastic complaints about people using the word "myself" in sentences like "You will have a meeting with Bob and myself." Myself is a reflexive pronoun, and it's a bit confusing, so I will turn to my favorite source, Grammar Girl, who gives a great explanation about when to use I, me or myself, and when myself can be used to add emphasis, as in "I painted it myself." But the short answer? Please, never say "You'll be meeting with Bob and myself."

• Should have / should of

I think the problem here is that the words "should have" and "could have" were contracted in spoken English to "should've" and "could've" and some people now think that means "should of" and "could of." The correct expression is "should have," "could have," or "would have" and that is how you write it out.

• Pluralizing with apostrophes

The way we make words plural in the English language is usually by adding the letter 's' to the word. So egg becomes eggs and CEO becomes CEOs. Apostrophes are not used to pluralize words. Ever.

• Less / fewer

Fewer is used when you're talking about something you can count, and less is used for things you can't specifically quantify. So if you want to weigh less, you will want to eat fewer candy bars.

• Then / than

This pair got a lot of mention in the other article's comments section. If you're confused on this one, "then" refers to the passing of time, and "than" indicates a comparison. First you need to be better than she is, and then you can win.

• Loan / lend / borrow

This one is kind of tricky. Traditionally, "lend" is a verb and "loan" is a noun. In American English, you go to the bank and ask for a loan, and they lend you money. Or they loan you money, and then you can tell people that they lent you money. Or loaned you money. And now you have a loan to pay off. I told you it was tricky. Our faithful source Grammar Girl has a tip to remember: "loan" and "noun" both have an "o" in them, and "lend" and "verb" both have an "e."

• To / too

I didn't include this because I rarely see it in cover letters, resumes or business correspondence. But apparently others see it a lot, so here you go. "To" means in the direction of, as in They went to the movies. "Too" means in addition to, as in Our daughter came along, too, or to an excessive degree, as in, We left early because it was too hot in the theater. Of course, none of these are the same as the number two. Duh.

By the way, a simple grammar check caught most of the mistakes here. When in doubt, let your software tell you when you've got it wrong.

Source Links : http://work.lifegoesstrong.com/more-grammar-errors-make-you-look-dumb-readers-speak

7 Spelling and Grammar Errors that Make You Look Dumb

Many brilliant people have some communication weak spots. Unfortunately, the reality is that written communication is a big part of business, and how you write reflects on you. Poor spelling and grammar can destroy a professional image in an instant.

Even if your job doesn't require much business writing, you'll still have emails to send and notes to write. And if you're looking for a job, your cover letters and resumes will likely mean the difference between getting the interview or not.

Bad grammar and spelling make a bad impression. Don't let yourself lose an opportunity over a simple spelling or grammar mistake.

Here are seven simple grammatical errors that I see consistently in emails, cover letters and resumes.

Tip: Make yourself a little card cheat sheet and keep it in your wallet for easy reference.

You're / Your

The apostrophe means it's a contraction of two words; "you're" is the short version of "you are" (the "a" is dropped), so if your sentence makes sense if you say "you are," then you're good to use you're. "Your" means it belongs to you, it's yours.

• You're = if you mean "you are" then use the apostrophe
• Your = belonging to you

You're going to love your new job!

It's / Its

This one is confusing, because generally, in addition to being used in contractions, an apostrophe indicates ownership, as in "Dad's new car." But, "it's" is actually the short version of "it is" or "it has." "Its" with no apostrophe means belonging to it.

• It's = it is
• Its = belonging to it

It's important to remember to bring your telephone and its extra battery.

They're / Their / There

"They're" is a contraction of "they are." "Their" means belonging to them. "There" refers to a place (notice that the word "here" is part of it, which is also a place – so if it says here and there, it's a place). There = a place

• They're = they are
• Their = belonging to them

They're going to miss their teachers when they leave there.

Loose / Lose

These spellings really don't make much sense, so you just have to remember them. "Loose" is the opposite of tight, and rhymes with goose. "Lose" is the opposite of win, and rhymes with booze. (To show how unpredictable English is, compare another pair of words, "choose" and "chose," which are spelled the same except the initial sound, but pronounced differently. No wonder so many people get it wrong!)

• Loose = it's not tight, it's loosey goosey
• Lose= "don't lose the hose for the rose" is a way to remember the same spelling but a different pronunciation

I never thought I could lose so much weight; now my pants are all loose!

Lead / Led

Another common but glaring error. "Lead" means you're doing it in the present, and rhymes with deed. "Led" is the past tense of lead, and rhymes with sled. So you can "lead" your current organization, but you "led" the people in your previous job.

• Lead = present tense, rhymes with deed
• Led = past tense, rhymes with sled

My goal is to lead this team to success, just as I led my past teams into winning award after award.

A lot / Alot / Allot

First the bad news: there is no such word as "alot." "A lot" refers to quantity, and "allot" means to distribute or parcel out.

There is a lot of confusion about this one, so I'm going to allot ten minutes to review these rules of grammar.

Between you and I

This one is widely misused, even by TV news anchors who should know better.

In English, we use a different pronoun depending on whether it's the subject or the object of the sentence: I/me, she/her, he/him, they/them. This becomes second nature for us and we rarely make mistakes with the glaring exception of when we have to choose between "you and I" or "you and me."

Grammar Girl does a far better job of explaining this than I, but suffice to say that "between you and I" is never correct, and although it is becoming more common, it's kind of like saying "him did a great job." It is glaringly incorrect.

The easy rule of thumb is to replace the "you and I" or "you and me" with either "we" or "us" and you'll quickly see which form is right. If "us" works, then use "you and me" and if "we" works, then use "you and I."

Between you and me (us), here are the secrets to how you and I (we) can learn to write better.

Master these common errors and you'll remove some of the mistakes and red flags that make you look like you have no idea how to speak.

Source Links: http://work.lifegoesstrong.com/7-spelling-and-grammar-errors-make-you-look-dumb?utm_source=OB_work&obref=obnetwork