Nouns
Pronouns
When the gender of a pronoun antecedent is unknown, or when the antecedent represents both sexes, which third person singular pronoun should you use— he or she? Traditionally, he has been the automatic choice.
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The diplomatic person keeps his opinion to himself.
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The reader himself will decide whether he wants to accept Smith's premise.
For the past several years, however, some people have objected to this one-sided view of things. But remedying it hasn't been easy, and usage experts don't agree on one solution. Here are some ways of handling the problem.
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When possible, rewrite sentences using third person plural forms.
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Diplomatic people keep their opinions to themselves.
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Use he or she.
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The reader will decide whether he or she wishes to accept Smith's premise.
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Use he/she or s/he.
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The reader will decide whether he/she (or s/he) wishes to accept Smith's premise.
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Continue to use he throughout a piece of writing.
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Use she instead of he throughout a piece of writing.
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Alternate between he and she within a piece of writing.
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Use their even when the antecedent is singular.
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A ticket holder must check their number.
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We recommend using third person plural whenever that solution is possible and he or she when the plural form is awkward or inappropriate. However, constant repetition of he or she slows the flow of a sentence, and you risk annoying your reader if you use the phrase too often.
The solutions aren't ideal, but they seem less likely to offend than choosing either he or she exclusively and less confusing than alternating between them. The recommended solutions also prevent your being accused of making a grammatical blunder by using a plural pronoun with a singular antecedent. Finally, he or she is preferable to the bureaucratic-sounding he/she or the unpronounceable s/he.
