Comments on: Is Sarah Palin a She or a They?

By: Connie Hale

Connie Hale — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:16:31 +0000

But it’s so much cleaner to get your pronouns right! And there are certainly instances in which the plural pronoun for a singular subject confuses.

I always think clarity and elegance trump “usage,” and I hold writers and professional communicators to a higher standard than just “acceptable usage.”

Glad you like the blog! Hope to hear from you again!

By: Deiter

Deiter — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:17:10 +0000

Isn’t it possible for him to correctly address Palin “and others like her” in this instance without actually having to specify? In terms of usage we both understood what he was (attempting) to say, right?

BTW, I enjoy the blog.

By: Constance Hale

Constance Hale — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:23:51 +0000

Here’s another pronoun goof from the same political week. But this is Emily Rooney, on “Beat the Press,” produced by WGBH in Boston:

“From the massacre at Ft. Hood to the health-care debate to even beauty pageant queen Carrie Prejean, the political right is grabbing the story live. The question is, are they right?”

Well, Emily, you aren’t. The political right is singular; the question would be, is IT right?

Is your show “Beat the Press,” or “Beat the Pronoun”?