He, She, or they

Question

What would you say if you are addressing a "genderless" audience? For example, "he/she can add punctuation marks" or "a student can add punctuation marks."?

Answer 1

Great question, and one that comes up a lot. When you’re addressing a general or genderless audience, the best option is usually to use “they” as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. So instead of writing “he/she can add punctuation marks,” you can say, “They can add punctuation marks.”

Another approach is to rephrase the sentence to avoid the pronoun altogether, like “Students can add punctuation marks” or “A student is able to add punctuation marks when needed.”

Using “they” as a singular pronoun is widely accepted in modern writing, including in academic and professional settings, and it helps keep your writing clear, inclusive, and easy to read.

Answer 2

Good question!

Here are 3 options:

1. You can use "you". See? I just did it right there.
2. Use "they" as in: If students are confused, they can refer to the handout.
3. Avoid sentences requiring a pronoun. If you're confused, refer to the handout (when addressing students). If students are confused, have them refer to the handout (when addressing, say, teachers.)

Answer 3

It is not grammatical, but a writer can use "they". For example: "a student has to add punctuation marks. They are recommended to do so to avoid misunderstanding." Even though the use of "they" conflicts with the singular use of the word "student" in the previous sentence, it is permissible to use it to avoid using "he/she".