pronouns - Can "his/her" be replaced by "his"?


Yesterday, I asked this question on Web Apps:



If a Facebook user dies, what happens to the account?



Actually, I wanted to ask it this way:



If a Facebook user dies, what happens to his/her account?



I chose the easy way and used the instead of his/her. Could I use just his in this case?:



If a Facebook user dies, what happens to his account?



What would you recommend for similar cases? Which pronoun is more appropriate to be used?



Answer



You can use the singular “their”: “what happens to their account”.


While is was regarded with rather less than more favorability in the past by style guides, it is gender-neutral and, as such, regains popularity.


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