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I know that for "a group of people", it seems to be treated as singular ([a] group).

However, given the below:

Gymnastic teachers, who serve as role models for others, should keep their [body/bodies] in a peak state.

For that, "teachers" is plural, so it would make sentence to use "bodies" there. However, if "gymnastic teachers" is viewed as a collective group, "body" would be used instead.

Does that mean either is correct? Or should it not be viewed as a single group, but instead as individuals?

john2546
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2 Answers2

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The right way to say this is: Gymnastic teachers, who serve as role models for others, should keep their bodies in a peak state. Since their is plural, the noun which follows should be plural as well. If you say their body it sound as though their bodies are joint like Siamese twins. I've seen "their body" used to replace his/her when it refers to one person (generalizing) but I don't think it works in this context.

Example: Any person wishing to donate their body may be required, but not always, to make prior arrangements with the local medical school, university or body donation program before death. -Wikipedia

AllyOfCats
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According to the rules of American Standard English (the most correct form of English in the world today) when referring to two or more people, “their bodies” is always correct. “Their body” actually means two or more people share the very same body. So, if you’re referring to conjoined twins, for example, who have two heads but share one body between them (who usually have actually two partial bodies joined at the spine joined to one pelvis and one pair of legs) it would be correct to say “their body”; but in every other case, where each person has his or her own body—no matter how similar—the correct wording is “their bodies.” There are NO exceptions to this rule.

NOTE: Using the word “their” to mean his or her, when one’s gender is unknown, is linguistically incorrect—always. If one’s gender is unknown, the correct word is “he” (or him). For example:

Incorrect: “Someone called while you were out.”

“What did they want?”

“They said they would call back later.”

Correct: “Someone called while you were out.”

“What did he want?”

“She said she would call back later.”

This may be politically incorrect, but it is linguistically correct.

Adam Pendragwn
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  • Is ASE laid down anywhere? According to this Wikipedia article, recommendations about singular 'they' made by various usage panels in the States are contradictory. // The use of a singular noun to reference the singular possession (etc) of grouped members is well documented and acceptable. Can you imagine a TV chef saying "Put your turkeys into pre-warmed ovens" when addressing a TV audience of say 6 million? – Edwin Ashworth Oct 26 '19 at 12:31