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Python Python Basics (2015) Logic in Python Fully Functional

Michael Rathbun
Michael Rathbun
1,624 Points

Grammatical question / mistake in video ?

Noticed a grammatical mistake in the code in Sams name. It should read Sam's a lumberjack and "he's" ok or "she's" ok, not "they're".

3 Answers

Mira Nasan
PLUS
Mira Nasan
Courses Plus Student 649 Points

Treehouse is based in Portland. People/Companies from Portland are more likely to think that an individual can be "Gender-Neutral."

Jason Anders
MOD
Jason Anders
Treehouse Moderator 145,860 Points

Hey Michael,

Nice catch... but...

I've been an editor (and writer) for ~15 years now. While, technically, it is still incorrect to use "they" as a singular pronoun in formal writing, there is a growing and strong movement that believes otherwise, myself included.

And today, almost all large publications, dictionaries, and Style Guides permit its use and define "they" to denote a singular, gender-neutral pronoun, to be used in place of "he" or "she."

I use this very regularly in my professional writing, and I never edit this use out of pieces I work on.

The way the movement for this is progressing, I really would not be surprised if, in the next few years, this becomes even officially correct in formal writing.

For further information / confirmation on this usage, you can look at the world renowned Oxford Dictionary or the very popular Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Keep Coding! (And writing). :smile: :dizzy: