Pronouns
Q. I am writing a thesis for my university and use the pronoun “we” instead of “I.” For example, “From this, we can conclude that . . .” I personally think this looks more scientific than using the “I” pronoun. However, a colleague of mine states that if I am the only one writing the thesis and doing the research, I should use “I,” because otherwise readers might wonder who else wrote the document. Do you know which one is better to use in my case? Answer »
Q. Is it proper to capitalize pronouns that refer to a deity? For example, “God is willing to forgive anyone who comes to Him.” Answer »
Q. I have an author who continually uses He/she in the beginning of sentences. I understand that you may make that reference in the beginning, but then must choose one gender to refer to from then on because it is daunting to the reader to continually have to read He/she. I cannot find a specific CMOS reference to justify this change. Can you assist? Answer »
Q. When writing a proposal for my company, I typically use the pronouns “we” and “you.” For example, “We are confident that the job can be done in the time frame you desire.” I have a colleague who insists that I should write, “Our company (or XYZ Inc.) is confident that the job can be done within the time frame ABC Co. desires.” I think the repetitive naming of the companies becomes tedious to read, and it becomes confusing to refer to each company as “the firm” or whatever. I think that after the company name is mentioned at the onset, then referring to the respondent as “we” and the recipient company as “you” makes for clearer communication and also sounds less lofty and distancing. What is your opinion? Answer »
Q. I’m having trouble with “who” vs. “that.” I understand that, in general, “who” is used with persons, while “that” is used for groups. However, consider the following sentence: “In this way, the novel satisfies the demand of many social scientists who/that demand a more reflexive and critical examination of an author’s political and social context.” Are these many social scientists a group requiring “that,” or people requiring “who”? Thanks! Answer »
Q. I am having trouble deciding if it is “Page and I” or “Page and me” in “Please let Page and me know.” Answer »
Q. Is “this is mine and Kelly’s cat” correct? Would you please explain the rules behind this sentence. Thank you. Answer »
Q. Hello CMOS. My close friends and I have decided for numerous reasons that all of the current methods of political correctness in pronouns are silly and, simply put, not as gender neutral as they claim to be. With that in mind we decided to import the French on as both a singular and plural gender neutral pronoun. However, it has just recently occurred to me that in this situation what would be the protocol for the genitive case of on and constructions such as his/herself, would it be onself? Thank you CMOS. Answer »
Q. I frequently read and hear what I believe is misuse of the first person reflexive pronoun “myself.” For example, someone sent me an e-mail requesting that I send him information. He wrote, “Please forward the information to myself.” Today I read a statement made by President Clinton [in 1997]. He said, “I have no recollection of ordering Trooper Ferguson to arrange a meeting between myself and Ms. Jones.” Is this correct? Or would it have been more correct to say “between me and Ms. Jones” or “between Ms. Jones and me”? Answer »
Q. Please confirm or contradict the following. The special grammatical role played by the relative pronoun “whoever” leads to a case that few seem to know how to handle: when its role in the main clause appears to be objective, but its role in the subordinate clause is nominative. Answer »
Q. I answer our company’s main phone line, and frequently get calls for myself. Today when someone asked for me saying, “Is Charlotte available?” I responded, “This is she.” The caller promptly corrected me, informing me that I should have said, “This is her.” Which is correct? Answer »
Q. I would swear that I saw a reference in your manual that approved of the use of “their” instead of a gender-biased singular pronoun. For example, “If the user has completed installing the program, they should put the CD-ROM back in the package,” instead of “If the user has completed installing the program, s/he should put the CD-ROM back in the package,” but on your Q&A, you dance around the answer to the question and suggest that you do NOT approve of the singular “their.” Can you tell us what is acceptable? Answer »
Q. PLEASE tell me what you are recommending when people need a gender-neutral singular possessive pronoun. In order to avoid saying “his mind” or “her mind” (or, God forbid, “his/her mind”) people are saying “their mind”—and it blows MY mind—unless, of course, those people could be sure “they” are “of one mind”! If you have a discussion on this issue, I’d be most happy to receive it or be directed to it. Answer »
