The Pronoun Wars
Pronouns and antecedents When I first heard about "the pronoun wars ," I assumed the debate was about the old problem of the correct pronoun to use when "everyone" was the antecedent. This is the related question that I put on the mid-term exam for the course on Applied Grammar I was teaching in 1994. You have been asked to edit an official government document. You have to decide what to do about the following sentence: "In the future every university student will be required to pay 51% of the cost of their education." If you decide to change the sentence (or not to change it), you will have to explain your decision to three people: Mr. Boyle, who is a strict grammarian; Ms. Doyle, who is a proud feminist, and Mrs. Murphy, who likes to see problems solved in a practical, common-sense fashion. Explain the problem with the sentence, and give your decision and justifications. Traditional grammar versus feminism The traditional grammar