I have a question about a sentence.
When writing for mass media, success goes to he or she who puts their most important info at the top of the story.
Should it be he or she paired with their?
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Success goes to him or her... – Alan Carmack Dec 11 '16 at 18:11
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This question is unclear--there are so many pronouns and so little punctuation that it's not entirely clear what you're asking. – Katherine Lockwood Dec 11 '16 at 18:22
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This is a question that is on a grammar test that I have to take. – William Elliott Dec 11 '16 at 18:25
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Will someone correct it as they see fit? – William Elliott Dec 11 '16 at 18:25
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When writing for mass media success goes to him or her who puts their most important info at the top of the story. – William Elliott Dec 11 '16 at 18:26
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Would you add a comma after media? Would you put him or her instead of he or she? If you did put him or her, would you leave their? – William Elliott Dec 11 '16 at 18:27
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@William Elliott: It's always *he or she [who]* in your context, not *him or her. Consider He who hesitates is lost*, for example. – FumbleFingers Dec 11 '16 at 18:28
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2@FumbleFingers The preposition to requires objective case, surely? "Success goes to him who..." – Andrew Leach Dec 11 '16 at 18:49
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@Andrew: Hmm. It seems you're right (that's a claimed 35 instances of Success goes to him who..., but there's only one instances of the same with *he). In my example He who hesitates is lost* he's a *subject, not objective case. I still don't like him* in OP's context, but apparently that's just me. – FumbleFingers Dec 11 '16 at 18:55
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1@FumbleFingers: It's not just you, but Andrew Leach's answer is better for a grammar test. – herisson Dec 12 '16 at 00:20
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1Success on the grammar test goes to him who asks his instructor which answer will be considered correct. – aparente001 Dec 12 '16 at 00:28
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He who asks his instructor which answer will be considered correct will experience success. – aparente001 Dec 12 '16 at 09:21
1 Answers
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The Oxford Dictionary gives four valid alternatives:
I was taught to use the pronouns he, his, him, or himself to include both genders but this usage is now viewed in many quarters as sexist so I now avoid this usage.
You can use the wording ‘he or she’, ‘his or her’, etc.
If you can make the relevant noun plural then reword the sentence as necessary:
If your children are thinking about a gap year, they can get good advice from this website.
Finally you can simply use the plural form even though it refers back to a singular pronoun.
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