Re: Pronouns with User

[thadley -at- ttacs -dot- ttu -dot- edu]

Quoting Victoria Whitehorne <vwhitehorne -at- cgn -dot- net>:

> "If the user is ...then customize their session."
>
> I think this is technically incorrect but I am seeing 
it more and more.  My solution would be:
>
> "If the user is ...then customize the session."


Vicki,

While the use of the plural pronoun with a singular 
antecedent is still considered technically incorrect, 2 
factors--English's lack of an appropriate pronoun, and 
popular usage--will eventually conspire to make the 
plural pronoun acceptable in these constructions.

However, I think your solution is much more elegant, 
and has the additional advantage of avoiding the 
problem--a strategy which is usually recommended.

Tim


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Tim Hadley
Ph.D. student, Technical Communication and Rhetoric
Texas Tech University
806-742-2500, x 281
tim -dot- hadley -at- ttu -dot- edu
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

TECH*COMM 2001 Conference, July 15-18 in Washington, DC
The Help Technology Conference, August 21-24 in Boston, MA
Details and online registration at http://www.SolutionsEvents.com


---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.