a child and his...

[navi tasan]

Which of these are correct:

1-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for their mother.
2-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for his mother.
3-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for its mother.
4-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for his or her mother.

[Teia]

Which of these are correct:

1-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for their mother.
2-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for his mother.
3-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for its mother.
4-There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for his or her mother.

Hi Navi

The best answer is 2.
Sentence number 4 is also correct.
The noun "child" can be naming a girl or a boy.
Sentence number 1 : "child" is singular ; "their" is plural
Sentence number 3 : "child" is a person; "its" is used for inanimate objects, animals, phenomena ,etc.


Regards

[willem]

But "Their" can be used as a singular pronoun when you don't know the genre. So sentence number 1 would be correct as well. I'm pretty sure because UK's home office's website uses it and, indeed, look at this page:

Singular they - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(although I don't know if it sounds well in spoken english...)

[Humble]

Hi,
I'd say its.

[Harry Smith]

Hi,
I'd say its.

It's more convenient to say "it's", isn't it? But why?

[Teia]

But "Their" can be used as a singular pronoun when you don't know the genre. So sentence number 1 would be correct as well. I'm pretty sure because UK's home office's website uses it and, indeed, look at this page:

Singular they - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(although I don't know if it sounds well in spoken english...)

Hi

"Their" cannot be used in this context . "Child" does not go with "their" in any case. Wikipedia dictionary refers to another part of speech [anyone] not to a noun in the singular as "child" is. Thus, sentence number 1 is grammatically incorrect.If the noun were "children" , then you could use "their" .

Regards

[Teia]

It's more convenient to say "it's", isn't it? But why?

Hi Harry
"Its" [ not "it`s" = it is] is sometimes used with "baby" but not with "child"

Its and It's - This is perhaps the most confusing aspect of apostrophe usage, but it's really quite easy to determine whether or not an apostrophe belongs:

"It's" is a contraction; it's the shortened form of "it is."
"Its" is a possessive pronoun. We use "its" to indicate possession by something nonhuman, or which has no defined male or female gender. [nevertheless,"its" cannot be used with "child"]

For example:

The dog wagged its tail. --The tail belongs to the dog.
Once the can was bent, its lid wouldn't fit properly. --The lid belongs to the can.
The baby wants its bottle. -- The bottle belongs to the baby.
It's a beautiful day. -- It is a beautiful day.



Regards

[Humble]

Its can't be used with a child ??? Striking new to me.

[el_84]

i think this is the right :
There is no feeling as strong as the love of a child for his or her mother.
isnt it?

[Harry Smith]

Hi Harry
"Its" [ not "it`s" = it is] is sometimes used with "baby" but not with "child"

Its and It's - This is perhaps the most confusing aspect of apostrophe usage, but it's really quite easy to determine whether or not an apostrophe belongs:

"It's" is a contraction; it's the shortened form of "it is."
"Its" is a possessive pronoun. We use "its" to indicate possession by something nonhuman, or which has no defined male or female gender. [nevertheless,"its" cannot be used with "child"]

For example:

The dog wagged its tail. --The tail belongs to the dog.
Once the can was bent, its lid wouldn't fit properly. --The lid belongs to the can.
The baby wants its bottle. -- The bottle belongs to the baby.
It's a beautiful day. -- It is a beautiful day.



Regards

O.k I put ' by mistake. I maent "its" of course. I have explained this grammar to my students hundreds of times. Anyway, thanks.