Everyone, someone: his, her or their?

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Ottavio Amato

Ottavio Amato

Senior Member
Italia
Italia
In the sentence: When everyone contributes[ … ]own ideas, the discussion will be a success which pronoun could be inserted?
A. His
B. Their
C. Both


Sono quasi certo che la risposta sia His (il verbo è alla terza persona singolare, no?). E' così?

Grazie in anticipo!
Ottavio​
 
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    saia

    Senior Member
    Italy
    Italian - Italy
    Io concordo con te Ottavio Amato, ho sempre saputo che "everyone" si comporta come un singolare, forse un madrelingua potrà aiutarci...
     
    M

    Mack the Knife

    Member
    Italian
    una domanda ulteriore (scusate l'ignoranza) contributes o contributes with?..e se il verbo ha la s, non si tratta forse di terza persona singolare?

    ciao a tutti
     
    sound shift

    sound shift

    Senior Member
    Derby (central England)
    English - England
    To avoid accusations of sexism, we could say "When everyone contributes his or her own ideas ....", but that sounds rather awkward. Instead we can use "their" as a gender-neutral singular: "When everyone contributes their own ideas ....". The use of "their" as a singular is widespread, but purists don't like it. I see nothing wrong with it.
     
    Fedora

    Fedora

    Senior Member
    Ft. Worth, Texas, USA
    Guyana/English
    Ottavio Amato said:
    In the sentence: When everyone contributes[ … ]own ideas, the discussion will be a success which pronoun could be inserted?
    A. His
    B. Their
    C. Both


    Sono quasi certo che la risposta sia His (il verbo è alla terza persona singolare, no?). E' così?

    Grazie in anticipo!
    Ottavio​
    Click to expand...
    To answer your question: Yes, everyone is singular.

    As to whether you should use his or their that really depends on what you were taught. Some people prefer their, others prefer his/her, and others prefer his.

    As sound shift said some purists frown on using their (although that is what you would normally hear and even see).

    There is an entire thread on this in English Only: Thread.

    Personally I would pick their.


    Hope that helps :)
     
    U

    utente

    Senior Member
    California US
    American English
    Everyone is a collective noun, and is singular. It is true that many people use "their" but I am a "purist" and use "his".

    Everyone (ognuno) è un nome collettivo, ed è singolare. E' vero che molte gente usano "their" ma io sono "purist" ed io uso "his".

    --Steven
     
    A

    Auno

    Banned
    Australia - English
    The font was so small on the original I gave this one away.

    This is a very old chestnut. I appreciate the purist line of thinking but my preference is 'their'. Simply on the basis of what I'll call 'modern day convenience'. 50 years ago I'd have said 'his'.
     
    A

    Auno

    Banned
    Australia - English
    Eh? If that means "definitely", then there's nothing definite about "their"

    In strictly grammatical terms let's say, "his" is actually 'correct'. In usage however my preference is as indicated. And I expect it will become even a grammatical standard before much longer.
     
    Bookmom

    Bookmom

    Senior Member
    Massachusetts and Florida
    USA/English
    Mack the Knife said:
    una domanda ulteriore (scusate l'ignoranza) contributes o contributes with?..e se il verbo ha la s, non si tratta forse di terza persona singolare?

    ciao a tutti
    Click to expand...

    Contributes to is correct...When everyone contributes to the discussion honestly... or as an alternative, when everyone contributes with honesty to the discussion.

    She contributes to the community generously with time and energy.

    You contribute to and collaborate with.

    And I would always say their, maybe his or her, never just his unless it were an exclusively male audience.
     
    ElaineG

    ElaineG

    Senior Member
    Brooklyn NY
    USA/English
    Sono un dinosauro e direi: "his or her own ideas" o anche "his" (non mi ammazzate, ma non penso che il mio posto nel mondo dipendi da un pronome). Però, "their own ideas" è molto molto comune.
     
    U

    utente

    Senior Member
    California US
    American English
    ElaineG said:
    Sono un dinosauro e direi: "his or her own ideas" o anche "his" (non mi ammazzate, ma non penso che il mio posto nel mondo dipendi da un pronome). Però, "their own ideas" è molto molto comune.
    Click to expand...

    Elaine-- grazie! Qui a San Francisco c'è molto pressione usare parole che sono politically correct ma, secondo me, "everybody is entitled to their o his or her opinion" souna male.
     
    Bookmom

    Bookmom

    Senior Member
    Massachusetts and Florida
    USA/English
    utente said:
    Elaine-- grazie! Qui a San Francisco c'è molto pressione usare parole che sono politically correct ma, secondo me, "everybody is entitled to their o his or her opinion" souna male.
    Click to expand...

    In an informal poll held in my little bookstore in the overwhelmingly blue state of Massachusetts every single respondent, 30 or 35 asked over the lunch hour, unabashedly ;) chose their.
     
    cirrus

    cirrus

    Senior Member
    Crug Hywel
    UK English
    Bookmom said:
    In an informal poll held in my little bookstore in the overwhelmingly blue state of Massachusetts every single respondent, 30 or 35 asked over the lunch hour, unabashedly ;) chose their.
    Click to expand...
    I have been up in my eyes proofreading something at work for the last week. I took out all the his or hers to replace them with theirs if only because it is neater.

    As to your question whether contributes needs a with, I would say the "with" is redundant: Each person contributes his/ her/ their own ideas.
     
    M

    maronzolo

    Member
    Italian
    I have one doubt. I need to say:

    "Do you judge someone form his/its (?) appearance?"

    "someone" is not specified, so what should I use? its?
    thanks, I'll buy a grammar today :)
     
    SteveD

    SteveD

    Senior Member
    Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium
    British English
    I think that, to be grammatically correct, you should say, "...to judge someone from his or her appearance."

    However, we usually say, "...to judge someone from their appearance."
     
    G

    Giacomino

    New Member
    Italiano
    Ciao a tutti, ecco la mia domanda:
    "Someone left their umbrella on the bass" è corretto.
    E' corretto anche "Someone left its umbrella on the bass" ?
     
    stella_maris_74

    stella_maris_74

    Senior Member
    Rome
    Italian - Italy
    Credo che their sia la forma politically correct del plurale: non si sa se quel qualcuno sia un uomo (nel qual caso si sarebbe usato his) o una donna (her), e quindi si dice their.

    Its è sicuramente sbagliato perché non si usa come possessivo per le persone.

    PS: Benvenuto, Giacomino! :)
     
    london calling

    london calling

    Senior Member
    Salerno, Italy
    UK English
    francescazzurra said:
    "Bass" in italiano viene tradotto con "basso", lo strumento musicale. Forse intendevi "bus", l'autobus?:tick::D

    Io direi "someone left his umbrella". :tick::)
    "someone left their umbrella" sembra "qualcuno ha dimenticato il loro (di qualcun altro, terza persona plurale) ombrello". Ma aspetta un nativo.
    Click to expand...
    Its (e per analogia it) non si usa riferito a persone, ma ad oggetti (o animali, ma anche qui dipende dal rapporto hai con la bestia in questione: non direi mai "it" o its" parlando del mio micione:D)!
     
    L

    Leo57

    Senior Member
    Yorkshire
    UK English
    Giacomino said:
    Ciao a tutti, ecco la mia domanda:
    "Someone left their umbrella on the bus" :tick:è corretto.
    E' corretto anche "Someone left its:cross: umbrella on the bus" ?
    Click to expand...

    Hi there and welcome to the forum
    To address Francescazzurra's point: For "someone/somebody" we always use "their" (and they when appropriate)
    Ciao
    Leo:)

    p.s. I didn't know about all the other posts because I kept getting cut off the internet! :)
     
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    Giacomino

    New Member
    Italiano
    Grazie a tutte e due per la risposta in tempo record.
    Chiaramente bass era bus, sono il solito distratto.

    Grazie ancora e....al prossimo dubbio atroce
     
    P

    pescara

    Senior Member
    Connecticut
    English-USA
    I believe the gramatically proper way to say this is: Somebody left his umbrella on the bus. However, it has become very common usage to say: somebody left their umbrella on the bus.

    Ciao.
     
    P

    Phil Rusling

    New Member
    Geneva
    English-UK
    As many contributors have observed, it largely depends on the circumstances. Basically, you should use your noggin. His or her often seems a very clumsy attempt to be politically correct, and since "their" has been used with anyone for hundreds of years, I can see no reason to rule it incorrect. I once had to translate a first-aid manual in which "his or her" would have appeared on just about every line "place the victim on his or her back" etc.; the overall effect of refusing to use "their" would have been to render the text extremely tedious, or even comic.
     
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