Word Nerds Unite

It’s about time to resurrect the Editorial Courses blog. Apologies to all who have patiently waited, given up, or scoffed (as any editor worth his or her salt would) at our sorely outdated entries. As of press time, we intend to add to the blog each Monday. Maybe more. But definitely not less.

And now for a mini grammar lesson. I cringed when I typed “his or her” above. It’s clunky. It’s ugly. It’s does not in any way roll off the tongue. However, it is not okay — I repeat: NOT OKAY — to substitute “their” (i.e., “any editor worth their salt”). Know why? “Their” is plural. And, in the above sentence, the pronoun needs to match in number with “any editor,” which is singular. Some might argue that the dissonance caused by “his or her” is much greater than the disagreement in number posed by substituting “their.” I and other word nerds around the world would disagree, countering that poor grammar is never pleasing to the ear, nor the soul.

Here’s hoping one day we can all agree upon a gender-neutral singular pronoun so we can do away with “his or her” forever. Any ideas?