using they or their when subject is singular
billybear
I have a question I'd like to ask.
I was writing a sentence the other day the following way:
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When you set up an appointment with a dentist, they usually
try to give you procedures you don't need.
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In the above sentence, is the use of "they" acceptable, even though
the word "dentist" is singular? Should "he or she" be used in place
of "they", or is it OK as it is? I never really thought of this
before, till I wrote that sentence.
thanks
Eric Walker
This question inevitably starts long and often quite heated arguments
between the two schools of English usage.
To try to sidestep those arguments, let me put my answer this way: if you
avoid using plural pronouns with singular antecedents, no one will ever
find error with your speech or writing. If you do not follow that
advice, at least some people will think you're an ignorant illiterate.
There are numerous ways to manage the avoidance other than the simple "he-
or-she/him-or-her method (which is, in any event, not so painful as some
would have it). The simplest and commonest is to use the plural form:
When you set up appointments with dentists, they usually try to give
you procedures you don't need.
(Incidentally, you don't give procedures, you perform them; and I have
never heard of a dentist who performs procedures in the process of
setting up an appointment. That is not meant as sarcasm, but as a
reminder that it is well to think through what one is actually saying
before committing it to ink--or to electrons, as may be.)
Garner, in _A Dictionary of Modern American Usage_, notes at least four
other ways in which "he or she" forms can usually be avoided. You might
also want to look at http://owlcroft.com/english/they.shtml
--
Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/
Bill McCray
When you call the dentist's office, you usually don't talk to the
dentist; you talk to a member of the staff. I read your "they" as the
dentist's staff.
Bill in Kentucky
aquachimp
I wondered about that too, especially when turning the sentence around
to;
A dentist will usually try to give you procedures you don't need when
you make an appointment.
OR;
A dentist will usually try to offer you procedures you don't need when
arranging the appointment.