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On twitter appears “today is their birthday” at the profile of the person who is getting old in the day. Why “their”? Doesn’t their means about they? Why not your? Or its birthday?

J.R.
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Lauren
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  • Twitter could have used "his or her", but they have opted for the less clunky "their" instead. One thing for sure, though, we would never use "its" in this context. – J.R. Jun 07 '19 at 20:06
  • I don't agree that "his or her" is "clunky", but absolutely, 'its" should not be used. Nor should 'your" be used about a third peson. – David Siegel Jun 07 '19 at 20:42
  • @DavidS - I'm imagining the context of a social media feed, where three of my friends are having a birthday, and each one is labeled: It's his or her birthday! I'd consider that a "clunky" way to convey the news. – J.R. Jun 07 '19 at 21:33

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