Schpelling

[MatticusMania]

I see the person whom Ive corrected has deleted his post.

No fair, I had to use the ambiguous pronoun as I was not aware whether the poster was male or female.

I see the person whom I've corrected has deleted his post.

Apostrophes are for ********.

I assume you're talking about me. I deleted my post only to post after yours (as I thought you were correcting the OP and not my post). My original point still stands - it simply depended upon the context.

A common mistake is to use the word "their" when "his" or "hers" would be the correct choice.

See above regarding pronouns.

Their is also acceptable, particularly when one wants to write in a gender-neutral manner.

Yeah? Try that on an English exam.

It'd pass just fine if the gender of the person being reffered to was ambiguous.

 

[Turock]

No fair, I had to use the ambiguous pronoun as I was not aware whether the poster was male or female.

He, his, mankind, chairman are all gender neutral.

It'd pass just fine if the gender of the person being reffered to was ambiguous.

Afraid not, especially in formal writing (according to the above cited OED).
Purdue online writing lab:
1. Agree in number

If the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, you have to use a singular pronoun.
If a student parks a car on campus, he or she has to buy a parking sticker.
(INCORRECT: If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker.)

 

[Vince Klortho]

You can use the plural pronouns ‘they’, ‘them’, ‘their’ etc., despite the fact that, technically, they are referring back to a singular noun:

If your child is thinking about a gap year, they can get good advice from this website.
A researcher has to be completely objective in their findings.

Some people object to the use of plural pronouns in this type of situation on the grounds that it’s ungrammatical. In fact, the use of plural pronouns to refer back to a singular subject isn’t new: it represents a revival of a practice dating from the 16th century. It’s increasingly common in current English and is now widely accepted both in speech and in writing.

from http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/he-or-she-versus-they

 

[MatticusMania]

Im going to see what my girlfriend says about this; she has her bachelors in English from UCLA.

 

[Turock]

"Accepted" and "common" are not synonymous with "correct".

 

[Turock]

Im going to see what my girlfriend says about this; she has her bachelors in English from UCLA.

The UCLA career center uses it in this manner:
"Thank the employer for accepting your resume, application, or inquiry, and explain that you are looking forward to hearing from him or her soon".

 

[bassinplace]

Apostrophes are for ********.

I believe you're mistaken. Broken hearts are for ********. The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe.

 

[bassinplace]

The UCLA career center uses it in this manner:
"Thank the employer for accepting your resume, application, or inquiry, and explain that you are looking forward to hearing from him or her soon".

But doesn't that assume that the person knows the gender of the person he or she (or they) are addressing?

 

[bolophonic]

Apostrophes are for ********.

Apostrophes are for a$$hole's?

 

[Lync]

or should I say LOSE?

It's all based on principal.

 

[MatticusMania]

Apostrophes are for a$$hole's?

Not really, I was just making a joke at my preference for not using them online.