Feedback: Pointing out an annoying grammar mistake.

I apologize in advance to those who hate it when someone points out grammatical errors.  You may stop reading now.

I noticed that, when a member's account it closed for cheating, there is a message posted on the cheater's profile.  The first sentence reads: "[t]his member's account was closed because they were found to be cheating."  This is a common case of the pronoun not agreeing in number with its antecedent.  "Member" is singular, while "they" is plural.

"This member's account was closed because he or she was found to be cheating."  This would be a proper formulation of the sentence.  Also, if the "he or she" is too cumbersome (as it often is), it is still considered okay to just use the male pronoun "he."  Also, there has been a recent move toward using the female pronoun, "she" in place of "he or she."  Either would be appropriate.

I'm pretty sure there is a movement among some grammarians to allow the use of "they" as a gender-neutral, singular pronoun.  In fact, I think some pretty famous authors have even used it this way.  That said, I don't believe it has yet caught on, and as it stands right now, the quoted sentence is incorrect.

I think chess.com should check into this.  After all, it's not like they have anything more important to do (please note the sarcasm in this last sentence).

If you asked us I think they would agree with you buddies - why not stick to singles if it aint a many!

Prescriptive grammar vs. Descriptive grammar.

Follow the "rules" or follow usage, especially by good authors.

Free your But and start a sentence with it today!

From dictionary.com

—Usage note
Long before the use of generic he  was condemned as sexist, the pronouns they, their,  and them  were used in educated speech and in all but the most formal writing to refer to indefinite pronouns and to singular nouns of general personal reference, probably because such nouns are often not felt to be exclusively singular: If anyone calls, tell them I'll be back at six. Everyone began looking for their books at once. Such use is not a recent development, nor is it a mark of ignorance. Shakespeare, Swift, Shelley, Scott, and Dickens, as well as many other English and American writers, have used they  and its forms to refer to singular antecedents. Already widespread in the language (though still rejected as ungrammatical by some), this use of they, their,  and them  is increasing in all but the most conservatively edited American English. This increased use is at least partly impelled by the desire to avoid the sexist implications of he  as a pronoun of general reference.

If there was ever a time for proofreading yourself, this would have been it.

Why shouldn't chess.com be at the front of the movement for the use of "they" as gender-neutral singular instead of clinging to backwards traditions? Especially when using either "he" or "she" would be gender incorrect in some cases.

Actually, I've heard SO often people use "they" for one person neutral to their gender. I always found it a little weird myself, but it certainly seems to have caught on where I am. About what dictionary.com says, well basically they're saying "most authors have been saying screw it, who cares if we use they for singular, at least we're not sexist". So, really they just do whatever they please, and most people would follow in the authors' footsteps, even though it still doesn't make sense to me how plural makes sense for singular things, but then "he" being used for something unknown can't be 100% correct either, but I still prefer it over they personally.

Loomis, I think his problem is just that "they" technically shouldn't make sense if you're just talking about one person. Personally, I like to use "he", as by tradition, for whatever reason, most people call it the default sex (just as many times all people is sometimes referred to as "man"), maybe because it's convenient to have one I guess. Sure it could be incorrect, but I think it would be understood by most people that the "default" sex is being used for ease of reference, rather than sexism. The same could be done for she as well, although many people, not considering (or being used to) that the default sex, may think it means the people who said "she" know it's a girl when it could really be either one. s/he is quite a good option as well, of course though if you were actually reading the sentence out loud, it would sound a bit weird!

Woton, apparently I made a mistake and inverted the groups.  It appears that using "their," "they," or other iterations is the majority view, and I fit into the smaller, more conservative camp.  Thanks for the link.

Loomis, since I've already identified myself as a grammar conservative, I figure it might be a little redundant to point out that I don't think the traditional usage is "backward."  That said, it appears that I was somewhat mistaken about the popularity of the usage in question. 

As for the gender problem, I tend to prefer "she," since it seems to have caught on in writing and even speech recently.  I suspect I would have a harder time switching over to "they" as a gender-neutral singular.  It just doesn't read correctly to me.

Well if it catches on, at least nobody will accuse you of being sexist, LOL

honorflamingo wrote: '"This member's account was closed because he or she was found to be cheating."  This would be a proper formulation of the sentence.'

How about "This member's account was closed because the scumbag was found to be cheating?"

I like that better.  Now, I must go and check "the topics I have posted in."

Not bad bigpoison! No need to be so neutral with a cheater, right?

Elubas, language is not a fixed rule set, it is an evolving creation. It changes to fit the needs of those that use it to communicate. The pronoun "you" is used for both plural and singular, so I don't understand why you say "it still doesn't make sense to me how plural makes sense for singular things". We're not using a plural pronoun to represent a singular, we're using the same word in two different contexts.

honorflamingo, the traditional usage is not backward in the sense of a retarded hillbilly, it's backward in the sense that it came before and is no longer current with modern practice.

Again, some of this is a matter of opinion, and it just so happens that famous authors' opinions are taken as god and official rules, even though it's totally unclear which is more correct, they for a singular, or using a male or female singular for an unkown gender.

Hmm... maybe "they" could refer both to many people, AND when things are unknown as the pool of possible people it could be, male or female. It's interesting, still doesn't seem perfect though, and I still think it's more of a matter of opinion which is more correct.

Sure you refers to both, but they to me seems perfect for plural, why should the issue be confused and used for singular as well when it's easier to have a default sex? Of course that's just my opinion, others may not agree, but I don't think one is so clearly correct over the other.

I guess using they keeps everyone happy though, maybe just for that I'll use it...

"Ending sentences with a preposition is something up with which I will not put."

Heya, les internets brings up a good quote to memory! Now, getting back to topic, do you think that using "he" instead of "she" or "they" reflects the difference in performance between men and women in chess?

I guess using "he" for everything may seem a little old fashioned, at least in actual speech, I can understand that (not that "they" wouldn't sound awkward either!). I think when talking about the species as a whole, it makes sense to say "man" and "he", or when stating an example of some sort with a random person involved, nothing wrong with just calling it "he" (for example in a chess book to describe a good chess player in general I have read a male being described, like he can evaluate the position correctly, etc, but figured he meant either gender and he was just using he for convenience, not of course suggesting that a good player had to me male.). But perhaps when actually talking about a real person gender unknown, it may sound less weird to use "they" than guessing "he" or "she"  when in most cases there's a 50% chance of being wrong?

In the absence of a plural neuter, "they" is commonly used for such purposes in informal writing.

Elubas, what that I wrote and you quoted is a matter of opinion?

And if we want to pick on chess.com's grammar, how about the front page daily puzzle "Click the board to try and solve".

The use of the word "scumbag" in reference to a cheater does solve the problem.

'so I don't understand why you say "it still doesn't make sense to me how plural makes sense for singular things".'

Well, this would be the closest thing, because you're suggesting that it does make sense.

You go on to say "We're not using a plural pronoun to represent a singular, we're using the same word in two different contexts."

I think your first statement is something we are doing (if not why not?), as well as the second statement.

But I meant the subject itself is a matter of opinion, not as much your specific post. Someone may think "he" sounds better, others "they", and most likely whatever respected authors think will become the official rule, but that doesn't, or at least shouldn't, mean that there is no room for debate.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone's grammar, I just find it interesting (maybe not among many, but you can talk about whatever you want on forums, it's a site with freedom) that they is used to describe something singular sometimes, that's all.