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Disagreeable possessive pronouns
Misuse of the word “their” has grown to epidemic proportions, particularly in cases where it is used with collective words like “public” and “team.” I call it a war of
words—however, I fear “their” side has already won, the war is over, and only the purists are in denial!
As just one of countless examples I could cite, the use of “their” on the front page of The Dallas Morning News last summer, under the headline “Houston hailed as nation’s best urban school district.”
“’In large cities, the public is truly down on their public schools,’ Mr. Broad said.”
To The Morning News’ credit, it was simply quoting billionaire Eli Broad, who was giving a cash award. With his net worth, he can afford to be grammatically incorrect. For the rest of us, the correct usage is:
“’In large cities, the public is truly down on its public schools…’”
The word “public” is a singular entity. Although “public” is composed of human beings, the word “public” is never plural.
Here’s another one—the same idea, only using the word “team:”
“The medical team bases their underwriting decisions on history and function rather than condition.”
“Team” is always singular, no matter how many people it’s composed of. Thus, the correct sentence is:
“The medical team bases its underwriting decisions on history and function rather
than condition.”
However, this would also be correct:
“The doctors base their underwriting decisions…”
This one is a little tricky:
“The notebook provides information about their condition and treatment tailored to the individual patient’s needs.”
The implication is that many patients use these notebooks, but the subject of the sentence is “notebook,” so it should read:
“The notebook provides information about a patient’s condition and treatment tailored to his individual needs.”
However, the use of “his” brings up gender, which may not be appropriate. It is far simpler just to skip the gender issue by removing “his:”
“The notebook provides information about a patient’s condition and treatment
tailored to individual needs.”
My friend Pam Pizel stood up at my leads group, CEO21, and said, “If you have a client who would like to reduce their rent…” Of course, Pam, who is extremely smart, knows she could have said:
“If you have a client who would like to reduce his rent…”
or:
“If you have a client who would like to reduce his or her rent…”
But everybody hates “his” because it’s either exclusionary or downright sexist and everybody hates “his or her” because it’s just too ugly. So, we’ve taken to using the plural possessive pronoun,
“their,” even though it doesn’t agree with the singular subject, “client.” Obviously, Pam could have said:
“If you have clients who would like to reduce their rent payments…”
That would have been a perfect solution—both politically and grammatically correct. Sometimes we have good reasons for wanting to use a singular noun. What do we do then?
Skip the possessive altogether!
“If you have clients who would like to reduce rent…”
Or better yet:
“If you have clients who want to rent-reduce…
So if you know of tenants who want to rent-reduce, call Pam Pizel of Pizel & Associates. Her information is below. Pam is one of the best tenant-rep real estate space brokers in the world!
That’s a mouthful!
I think that…
I say that…
I believe that …
The gift that we give…
The mission that we pursue…
…so that…
Whenever you see the word “that” in your writing, delete it. It usually serves no useful purpose.
One exception: When writing a speech, where you want to create the sound of a human voice, it might be perfectly acceptable to use “that” from time to time—we often use “that” when speaking.
A second exception: The sentence, “That’s a mouthful!” obviously requires the word “that.”
Yet another exception: When you write “that something is necessary,” or “that you need something,” leaving out “that” sounds abrupt.
“Different from”
Question: When your want to make a distinction, is it…
“One thing is different from…”
Or:
“One thing is different than…?”
It’s always different from. Always. (My thanks to Maria Smith, my editor/proofreader on this one. Contact her at wordsmithgroup@aol.com.)
Information on Pam Pizel:
Pizel & Associates Commercial Real Estate specializes in tenant and buyer representation for office, retail, industrial, and medical space—also, purchases, sales and build-to-suits. “We've served the Metroplex since
1981,” says Pam, “helping thousands find the right location for their businesses and making the right deal!”
Pamela K. Pizel CCIM CIPS CEA
Pizel & Associates Commercial Real Estate
5050 Quorum Drive, Suite 700
Dallas, Texas 75254
pam@pizel.com www.pizel.com
Phone: (972) 404-0008 Fax: (972) 404-0009 |
