Alexios
Is it "its" or "their" in the following sentence? I can say that a qualified IT employee in our time is worth its weight in gold or I can say that a qualified IT employee in our time is worth their weight in gold Thank you!
Dec 19, 2019 9:27 AM
Answers · 6
1
"... their weight is gold" is correct. Singular "they" and "their" has been used for centuries. Here is a BBC article about singular "they." https://public.oed.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-singular-they/ Also, here is an italki discussion about "he," "he/she," "he or she," and "they." https://www.italki.com/question/487356
December 19, 2019
1
You should use "their" to generally refer to someone as either "his" or "her". Just remember that you should never address people as objects. Of course there are exceptions where you use "this" to address people, like introducing yourself on the phone, "This is Alyosha." or introducing someone to others, "This is my brother, Alex." but never "it" or "its".
December 19, 2019
Better to use "his or her." "Their" implies employeeS (more than one). The pronoun should match in number and gender to the subject noun. Hope this helps.
December 19, 2019
Their, you don't refer to people as it
December 19, 2019
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!