he 1

his,

him

anyone, everyone,

someone

Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand

painter, parent, person, teacher, writer,

Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller.

he

he/she

she/he

he or she

she or he

Everyone who agrees should raise his or her

her or his

his/her

her/his

right hand.

s/he,

they,

their,

them

All who agree should raise their right hands. All writers know that their first books are not likely to be bestsellers.

Traditionally, the masculine singular pronounsandhave been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns likeand) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either gender (etc.):This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice.Those who object to the generic use ofhave developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to useor(oror) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs:(orororForms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, ashave not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them.Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronounsandcan be used:See also they