Why is this sentence grammatically incorrect?

Xeno

This is a sample question on the Government of Canada test for a job.

Question 2
The plane (a) will be leaving at 2 p.m. Everyone (b) is to take (c) their seats. (d) _________.


Basically, one of the bold is incorrect. If none are, you check off D. I did.

Apparently C is grammatically incorrect.

Can someone tell me why?

Hardleft_335

I think C should be "his or her".

The word 'everyone' is being treated as singular, so 'their' is wrong. But it sounds fine to me. What a picky question.

EggyToast

Well, the incredibly stodgy grammarians argue that it should be "his or her seats." Which no one actually says, but is technically the correct way to represent a singular ungendered person. Many writers, to avoid using "his or her" or "s/he" or "he/she" will simply use "he" and then switch to "her" in different sections.

KalTorak

Yeah, I guess if you insist that "their" only be used for plural, it's incorrect. But people would say that sentence as written - "they" gets used as a neuter singular pronoun all the time.

Richard_Dastardly

Yup. that's it. Everyone is singular and their is plural.

Willeth

If you were to argue that the question takes a prescriptive approach to grammar and that 'their' is now reasonably acceptable in a descriptive context, you might be able to earn some brownie points depending on who's running the session.

The Crowing One

Because you touch yourself at night

er...

Actually, it as it has been said: "Everyone" is grammatically singular, therefore it should read "The plane will be leaving at 2 p.m. Everyone is to take their seat."

"Everyone" has a "seat," "everyone" does not have "seats."

Richard_Dastardly

Well, goddamn.

I think you're on to something.

Cyd Cyclone

Everyone is singular, as previously noted, therefore their is an inappropriate choice for the possessive pronoun, as it is plural. As this is a government test, his is almost certainly the appropriate possessive pronoun.

There's a possibility that they're implying that the use of a possessive pronoun shouldn't be used, and an indefinite article is preferable (i.e. Everyone is to take a seat). Depends on the author.

Remember that governments always tend to use the most grammatically correct language possible.

Xeno

Feck.

Damn, I'll probably fail the English part of the test then. Now I see what they mean. But I was looking at this question for 5 minutes and couldn't get it.

The Crowing One

Read more books. Good books. Pretend it's an Elder Scrolls game, because, as a skill, identifying bad grammar is easily trained.

Cyd Cyclone

Xeno wrote: »

Feck.

Damn, I'll probably fail the English part of the test then. Now I see what they mean. But I was looking at this question for 5 minutes and couldn't get it.

I can recommend some Grammar books if you're interested.

The basic one that the Canadian Government seems to follow is the King's English, published early last century. Not everything in there is still followed, but it's a good starting point.

Also, read Salman Rushdie. He tends to have very precise, and for the most part, grammatically correct prose.

And remember that just because a phrase is commonly said doesn't mean that you can write it.

Feels Good Man

To be fair, this is really an inoffensive grammatical mistake and a lot of people would let it slide. You think you'll fail the English part of the test because of it?

Eeveelution

If you want a decent read regarding grammar, read Stephen King's book about writing. He hashes out grammar in a fun way, while talking about his alcoholic past.

Thanatos

98% of the people who take the test are going to miss that, I guarantee you. Don't get too concerned about it.

Inquisitor77

The sad part here is that the distinguishing between "his/her" and "their" in the singular/plural possessive sense is actually a modern invention. Way back in the old days, "their" was perfectly acceptable to use in the singular sense, and the distinction between the two was rather blurry. Shakespeare did it on occasion, as did Samuel Johnson and Jane Austen. Anyone who has read the correspondence of the Founding Fathers (of the United States) can attest to the common usage of "their" in the singular sense then, as well.

When I was studying in England, someone actually pointed out to me that I tended to use "his/her" way too much in everyday conversation, when everyone there just used "their". I think it's one of those things were modern Americans, in the attempt to be politically correct and include "everyone" in the use of "everyone", are over-emphasizing the whole thing to the point of irritation.

The funny tidbit for this thread being that Canadians often have to choose between their American neighbors or their British heritage... It seems in this case, they decided to go with American [im]precision.

Cyd Cyclone

Inquisitor77 wrote: »

The sad part here is that the distinguishing between "his/her" and "their" in the singular/plural possessive sense is actually a modern invention. Way back in the old days, "their" was perfectly acceptable to use in the singular sense, and the distinction between the two was rather blurry. Shakespeare did it on occasion, as did Samuel Johnson and Jane Austen. Anyone who has read the correspondence of the Founding Fathers (of the United States) can attest to the common usage of "their" in the singular sense then, as well.

In the past it was acceptable to use it as a Indefinite Singular Possessive. That slowly changed in formal English. Which is what matters, as it is what the test was testing for. You could hardly argue that any of your examples represent formal, what you might call governmental, English.

Inquisitor77

Cyd Cyclone wrote: »

Inquisitor77 wrote: »

The sad part here is that the distinguishing between "his/her" and "their" in the singular/plural possessive sense is actually a modern invention. Way back in the old days, "their" was perfectly acceptable to use in the singular sense, and the distinction between the two was rather blurry. Shakespeare did it on occasion, as did Samuel Johnson and Jane Austen. Anyone who has read the correspondence of the Founding Fathers (of the United States) can attest to the common usage of "their" in the singular sense then, as well.

In the past it was acceptable to use it as a Indefinite Singular Possessive. That slowly changed in formal English. Which is what matters, as it is what the test was testing for. You could hardly argue that any of your examples represent formal, what you might call governmental, English.

Uh...ok. I don't think I ever represented any of what I said as anything other than side-commentary...but that's cool. Thanks for looking out?