Tell me what you think.
This is the beginning of an email I wrote to my Vig Village members.
“You may bring a friend or family member to the meetup. And if he / she wants to join us for dinner then he / she should…”
Hmm.
Isn’t this better?
“If they want to join us for dinner then they should…”
But…
It’s not grammatically correct!
Confusing Advice
Three weeks ago I had an operation on my leg.
And yesterday, I visited a physical therapist.
She taught me some exercises and gave me the most painful massage of my life.
Then she said something interesting; she said I should do squats to strengthen my leg muscles.
That’s interesting because the surgeon said, Absolutely no squats!
Now I’m confused…
People vs Rules
Here’s why it’s not grammatically correct.
The subject (friend/relative) is singular and the pronoun (they) is plural.
But I see and hear native speakers use “they” and “their” more and more often.
It’s just a whole lot easier than writing or saying “he/she”
Fine by me.
I believe, rules were made for people.
If the rule no longer serves its purpose, it’s time to get rid of the rule.
Whereas the world’s bureaucrats, policemen, English teachers and many so-called “leaders” believe people were made to follow rules.
A lot of words don’t have plural, such us pople, comrbidity, but many doctors make mistake speak ,,comorbidites,, but we understend that they want to say a lot od diseases…….
I know you are the best teacher, but I can’t to follow you… I’m busy. No free time…
Hi,
You said your physical therapist gave you the most painful massage of your life.
What a pity.
I thought a massage would range from a light stroking to a deep pressure but I never imagined a pain.
Squats or no squats… You certainly need the advice of a third good authority on the anatomy.
I understand you are confused because it is very confusing.
Take care.
We should know some rules to improve our English.But sometimes rules are to break them😉.
What I think : too much rules take off freedom
What I do : each time I’m not agree or feel uncomfortable with a rule I escape it and do what I want as long as it doesn’t bother anyone FREEDOM ✨🌺🧚🏻♂️
I agree with you. I will also arrange myself according to myself and in silence. Freedom is the most.
Hi Mr. Vig, in the sentence “Someone left their umbrella here” the subject (someone) is singular but with unknown gender, so you have to obey the rule using the plural possessive pronoun (their) instead of his/her. Even in your sentence the subject (a friend or family.member) has unknown gender, so, imho, you can use the plural pronoun. Don’t you agree? Another question: what kind of conditional is the one used in your sentence?
Hi. Yes, that’s the new rule. But according to traditional rules, you should use only “he” or “he/she.” And it’s a first conditional, but instead of “will” I used “should.”
Hi, often times are people confusing. Especially when are they dealing with healt problém. Many doctors have diferent opinions. Massage is very healthy…Rules are made to be broken. I value freedom very much. It is the best.
With out agressive medical services, I wish you good health