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This is from a lesson at the Englishtown website.

The stove should be positioned so a person using it doesn't have their back facing a doorway.

Why in the above sentence there is "their" instead of "he" or "she"?

AR AM
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  • Similar question on ELU: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/192/is-it-correct-to-use-their-instead-of-his-or-her – Catija Apr 01 '15 at 20:39
  • I guess there is a typing mistake. when I listened the voice carefully. I guess I heard "that" not "their". by the way how can someone erase his question? – AR AM Apr 01 '15 at 20:46
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    Simply put, "their" is gender-neutral, meaning that it represents "he" or "she" equally well. This is a fairly common usage. –  Apr 01 '15 at 20:50
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    There is no typo; the narrator in fact says "their". They/them/their is common in speech with singular antecedents of indefinite gender, and is gradually gaining acceptance even in quite formal written contexts. – StoneyB on hiatus Apr 01 '15 at 20:54
  • This question has been edited. How can I choose the edited version? – AR AM Apr 02 '15 at 17:23

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