Question
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u-1
9 set 2016

  • Giapponese
  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)
Domande Inglese (Stati Uniti)

A teacher should take care of their students.

I learned that "their" can refer to "everyone (singular)" like "Everyone should take care of their family members." I was wondering if it can be applied to a sentence like the one above. Or should I say "A teacher should take care of his or her students."? Thank you!
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BasmaShebl
9 set 2016

  • Arabo

you should say * a teacher should take care of his/her students.* as (teacher) is singular and (their) for plural only.

BR97
9 set 2016

  • Portoghese (Brasile)

"Their "can be used in that sense. As a neutral ( neither male nor female) pronoun.

PokeMonGOGOGO
9 set 2016

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

A teacher is a profession. If someone calls you teacher, they want you to teach them and take their learning responsibly. In language setting, not everyone is teachers.

sarodgers
9 set 2016

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

Teachers, Everyone is plural so you use their which is plural. Teacher is singular so his, her is used.

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wuffles
9 set 2016

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

@u-1 Your sentence sounds fine to me.

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Utente esperto
kimc
10 set 2016

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

Traditionally, the "correct" answer is "his or her". In recent years there has been a trend to avoid stereotyping occupations as belonging to one gender or the other. To avoid the awkward construction "his or her", or "his/her", the word their has come to be used by some writers and publications to mean "his or her". As you can see from the responses here, this trend is not universally accepted. (笑)

u-1
10 set 2016

  • Giapponese
@starry-chan @kimc @sarodgers Very interesting! In fact, I asked one of my American friends the same question. She said she would use "their". Anyway, the rule is still contravresial, isn't it? Thank you!
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kimc
10 set 2016

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

I think that in your sentence above, it would be better to avoid the his/her problem by simply saying, "teachers should take care of their students".

wuffles
10 set 2016

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

@kimc I agree. I hate writing "his or her", "his/her", "s/he", etc. It feels so unnecessarily complicated. I like to explain things in as few words as is reasonably possible. I feel it makes the communication more clear. ^_^

Utente esperto
u-1
12 set 2016

  • Giapponese
@starry-chan @kimc I see. In stead of "a teacher", "teachers" should be used to put an end to the their-or-his/her dispute. Thank you!
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wuffles
12 set 2016

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

@u-1 In this situation, "A teacher" and "Teachers" means the same thing to me.

A teacher should take care of their students.
Teachers should take care of their students.
^^They're the same to me.

Utente esperto
u-1
12 set 2016

  • Giapponese
@starry-chan Thank you for your comment!
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