Outside of misplaced commas, perhaps the most common grammar error my students make is pronoun-antecedent disagreement. Students forget that pronouns that refer back to a previous noun in a sentence need to match as either singular or plural. For example, "The student needs to do his or her homework." Or, "The students need to do their homework." Using they, their, or them as singular pronouns is a common slip in speaking, but it has become more common in writing also. Even smart, professional people make this mistake. An example I use in class is when President Obama once made a speech during the flu outbreak early in his tenure, and he said, "If your child is sick, keep them home from school." Wrong, right? Yes, and I mark it on students' papers every time I see it.
But that rule may be changing. The singular use of "they" is now accepted in the Washington Post style guide, and it was even recently named Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society. (I can't imagine the Vegas-style mayhem that must occur at those meetings.) However, the reason the plural pronoun is evolving into a singular catch-all is not just for ease of use; it is also to address the emerging gender neutrality of language.
I think I will continue to mark this inconsistency as incorrect, as one English teacher recommends, unless students are obviously attempting to neutralize gender. Otherwise, they simply don't have any idea what noun they are referring to. My red pen will remain active on this one for a while, I believe. But language is always changing, and we'll have to see what other rules evolve. Read more about this development here.
But that rule may be changing. The singular use of "they" is now accepted in the Washington Post style guide, and it was even recently named Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society. (I can't imagine the Vegas-style mayhem that must occur at those meetings.) However, the reason the plural pronoun is evolving into a singular catch-all is not just for ease of use; it is also to address the emerging gender neutrality of language.
I think I will continue to mark this inconsistency as incorrect, as one English teacher recommends, unless students are obviously attempting to neutralize gender. Otherwise, they simply don't have any idea what noun they are referring to. My red pen will remain active on this one for a while, I believe. But language is always changing, and we'll have to see what other rules evolve. Read more about this development here.