A shot at everyman’s guide to personal plural pronoun misuse: Don’t. Do. It.
Singular: Everyone, Someone, Each other, One another, You, All people needs to be followed with either singular usages of him or her, he or she. Or the awkward him/her. Not the plural pronouns them or their or they. We lost something valuable when we outlawed thy and thou which could be both plural and singular.
Avoid using these specific pronouns forces the writer to become creative and, believe it or not, more personal.
NO: Everyone must take their rest.
YES: Someone needs her nap.
NO: A person who plants their garden early will regret it.
YES: My neighbor planted her garden before the last frost.
NO: All human beings need to know they’re loved.
YES: Humans need to know they’re loved. (Succinctly: Humans need love.)
Women use their noggins when they work together.
Everyman’s teacher tells him to learn and use proper pronoun and plurality agreement in his sentence structure.
Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin writer who lives with her husband in a hundred and sixty-year-old house built by a Great Lakes ship captain. Surrounded by books and dragons, she writes inspiring fiction. Her novels include mystery and romance, all with a twist of grace. She has penned short stories and radio theater, is an avid book reviewer and reader, writing mentor, freelance editor, and blogger. She loves to encourage new authors and is the editor of Creative Wisconsin magazine. Find her at www.LisaLickel.com.
Whispers, Wishes, Wonder
Brave New Century –coming November, 2013 from Prism Book Group
Four young women learn about life and love in the early 20th century
The Last Detail –coming January, 2014 from Prism Book Group
All faith-based marriages are perfect, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.