# WR Error message



## Gemmenita

Hi Mike,

I have recognized that in this page it is written :

This member limits who may view *their* full profile.







I think grammatically :

This member limits who may view *his/her* full profile.

...would be correct !
Isn't it ?


I hope I was right in reporting this small typo to you.

( But if I am wrong, I think it would be better if you kindly forward this Thread directly to 'English only' Forum ! )

Best regards


----------



## mkellogg

I was always taught that using "their" for "his or her" was wrong, though commonly use.  Despite that, I've seen its use defended here. Let's wait to see what our EO members have to say.


----------



## JustKate

I loathe it, but there are plenty of very knowledgeable members who find it perfectly acceptable. 

I don't think anyone could say "his or her" is wrong, though, if you want to cater/pander to those of us who dislike the singular _their_ so very, very much. _His or her_ is fine so long as it's not used repeatedly.


----------



## DearPrudence

My impression from reading a thread on the English Only forum was that "their" seems more accepted in British English.
Maybe not  In any case, I wouldn't call it an "error" and it's possible you'll have to live with it, Gemmenita 

And this is not really new; SwissPete had (almost) the same concern more than 8 years ago! 
http://forum.wordreference.com/thre...emselves-for-him-himself.605073/#post-2436320


SwissPete said:


> "Sorry! That *user* has specified that *they* do not wish to receive emails. If you still wish to send an email to this user, please contact the *administrator* and *they* may be able to help."
> 
> Shown above is the response you may get in WR forums if you attempt to send a message to a member. Notice the mix of singular (*user*, *administrator*) and plural (*they*, *they*).
> 
> In the first case, using *he/she* would be gramatically correct (?), but somewhat clumsy.
> 
> In the second case, *administrator* could be changed to *administrators*.
> 
> Does anybody have a better idea / better ideas?


----------



## JustKate

It *is* more acceptable in BE. In AmE, it's very common, but many of us (such as me!) who care about such things dislike it intensely. My impression,  based on many conversations here in the forum, is that in BE, even many who care about such things aren't bothered by it at all.

My other impression, also based on many conversations here in the forum, is that the widespread BE acceptance of this has not yet reached many teachers of English as a foreign language, nor has it reached the textbooks they use.


----------



## mkellogg

JustKate said:


> It *is* more acceptable in BE.


We get this from the British? I wouldn't have suspected that.



JustKate said:


> I don't think anyone could say "his or her" is wrong, though, if you want to cater/pander to those of us who dislike the singular _their_ so very, very much.


You are right. It is easy enough to change and the new wording will not be controversial. I'll do it.

By the way, the authors of this forum software (Xenforo) are British.


----------



## Gemmenita

Thank you very much Mike ! Yes, this is the sentence which really befits a magnificent _linguistic_ Forum ! 




JustKate said:


> It is more acceptable in BE. In AmE, it's very common, but many of us (such as me!) who *care about* such things *dislike* it *intensely*. (...)


Thanks JustKate!
You are completely right !



DearPrudence said:


> My impression from reading a thread on the English Only forum was that "their" seems more accepted in British English.
> Maybe not  In any case, I wouldn't call it an "*error*" and it's possible you'll have to live with it, Gemmenita (...)


Thanks DearPrudence!
Since the only place I used the word 'error' was in the title of my Thread, here I would like to clarify that I didn't use it for 'their' ( although I still consider 'their'
as a _big_ error ), but indeed by 'error', I meant the title of the page where 'their' existed : WordReference Forums- *Error* ( as we may say : WR welcome message, WR congrats message,..., >>> WR Error message !)

And in the page you presented I loved the reply of Amy181 to SwissPete and its confirmations :



Amy181 said:


> This is a very common problem. *In spoken english* in everyday settings we often use the pronoun "they" with a plural noun, though i*t is not gramatically correct.* For *formal* writing, you *can say* his or her, he or she, or you can just try to think of a* different way* to say the same idea, for example: This user does not wish to recieve emails. This user has requested to not recieve emails. or Please contact the administrator, who may be able to help.



Therefore, let's keep it sometimes for spoken English, but only sometimes !

Thanks again
and
Have a nice day to all !


----------



## RM1(SS)

I finally got around to pulling out my OED and looking this up.  


> Often used in relation to a singular sb. or pronoun denoting a person, after _each_, _every_, _either_, _neither_, _no one_, _every one_, etc.  Also so used instead of 'his or her', when the gender is inclusive or uncertain.


The earliest citation is from the 14th century.  The earliest citation for singular _they_ is from 1526.


----------



## Parla

From a long-time American writer and editor:

Yes, this issue has arisen repeatedly in the English Only forum. Properly, "his or her" is required. But that does get tedious. While we can refer to a non-human as "it", there is no singular word that covers both sexes of _Homo sapiens_. Most of us dislike "he/she" and despise "s/he" and the various suggestions for new words like _zhe. _Bottom line: I suspect that "they" and "their" _may_ come to be accepted (as "you" already is) for both singular and plural.

Meanwhile, I suppose you could change it to: This is one of the members who limit who may view their full profiles.  OR: This member limits who may view the member's full profile. Personally, I wouldn't bother.


----------



## JustKate

Parla said:


> From a long-time American writer and editor:
> 
> Yes, this issue has arisen repeatedly in the English Only forum. Properly, "his or her" is required. But that does get tedious. While we can refer to a non-human as "it", there is no singular word that covers both sexes of _Homo sapiens_. Most of us dislike "he/she" and despise "s/he" and the various suggestions for new words like _zhe. _Bottom line: I suspect that "they" and "their" _may_ come to be accepted (as "you" already is) for both singular and plural.
> 
> Meanwhile, I suppose you could change it to: This is one of the members who limit who may view their full profiles.  OR: This member limits who may view the member's full profile. Personally, I wouldn't bother.


From another long-time American writer and editor  : 

Using _his or her_ can get amazingly tedious. But not when you're just using it once, as Mike is here. That's fine. That's not the problem. The problem is when you don't want to use _his or her_ over and over again but can't bear to use _their_. But as Parla has said, we've discussed this many times in the EO forum. *So* many.


----------



## Loob

So it's only me that dislikes "limits who may view", then?


----------



## Peterdg

Loob said:


> So it's only me that dislikes "limits who may view", then?


I'm afraid so.


----------



## EStjarn

Loob said:


> So it's only me that dislikes "limits who may view", then?



You can count me in 

My attempt: _This member limits access to his or her full profile._


----------



## Kelly B

I hate it all. Grumpity-grump. 

How about this? I'm aware that this version does not give the full story.

You do not have permission to view this member's profile.


----------

