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Here's part of a sentence:

a person's self image and their behavior...

Is it correct to use their in that situation? Or should it be his or her? This is from an older essay from university, so the grammar has to be okay.

Sven Yargs
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Noda
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  • "so the grammar has to okay" Do you mean. This is an essay from university so you think the grammar is correct, or that you need to make sure the grammar is correct. – Att Righ Nov 27 '17 at 00:59
  • Gender-neutral "their" is fine – BillJ Nov 27 '17 at 07:53

1 Answers1

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In formal writing, you must use "his or her" when referring to a singular noun. "Their" must refer to a plural noun.

Megan Walsh
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  • To make this sentence correct, you could write "A person's self image and behavior ..." or "A person's self image and his or her behavior ..." To know which one is better, I would need context. – Megan Walsh Nov 27 '17 at 01:07