Abstract

We surveyed 80 editors about their perceptions of singular they in five sentences. We asked editors to choose among three responses: maintain, query, or edit. We also examined whether editors’ responses differed according to age group. Editors most often said they would maintain they not only with an indefinite antecedent but also definite and nonspecific antecedents. Editors would query they when used with proper names to verify that they was the accurate pronoun.