How to write this properly?

Question

> "If you ask someone why they rewarded someone else, they will tell you > that they deserve it." I think that the intended meaning is pretty clear, but how do you say that properly without falling into a math-y kind of sentence like: > If you ask person A why they rewarded person B, person A will tell > you that person B deserves it. Having a hard time coming up with something that's not too ... heavy. PS: non-native speaker here.

Answer 1

If you ask a person why he rewarded his friend, he will tell you, "She deserved it."

I find it helpful, if you're not talking about real people, to make one male and one female, and then you can use pronouns. If they are real people, you can use names the same way.

If you ask Charles why he rewarded John, he will tell you, "John deserves it."