TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: A grammar-gender question From:Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL> Date:Mon, 26 Jun 1995 12:15:52 MST
Richard Anderson <RICHARD -at- ERUDITE -dot- COM> wrote-->
I want to say, "To view a user's group and rights, highlight
their name; their individual information will appear in the
Group and Rights portions of the window." But using "their"
with "a user" is bad grammar.
It's more grammatically correct to say, "To view a user's
group and rights, highlight his or her name; his or her
individual information will appear in the Group and Rights
portions of the window. But "his or her" turns the sentence
into a gender issue and it always sound awkward.
Old problem. No solution. Suggestions?
======================
I personally don't have a problem with using "their" as a
generic pronoun; however, how's this:
"To view a user's group and rights, highlight the user's name;
the individual information will appear in the Group and Rights
portions of the window."
I concentrated only on replacing the "their" occurrences; if
others suggest complete re-writes, so much the better.
=*= Beverly Parks =*= bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
=*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
=*= I am not representing my employer in any way." =*=
