What about this??

[english001]

I read about the pronoun "Its" whereas, it says that we use "its" to represent a PERSON or animal understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned whose gender is unknown or disregarded .

/Examples:
1. The horse had its saddle on (Dictionary.com)
2. A child proud of its first drawings (from Merriam Webster dictionary)

Now, is it CORRECT to say, "The student was able to speak ITS mind clearly"????

So,...What aboutthe FUNCTION of "ITS" in this sentence ??

[Buddhaheart]

Now, is it CORRECT to say, "The student was able to speak ITS mind clearly"????

Try 'his/her'.

[english001]

Is it incorrect to use "ITS" in this sentence?? but how come??

kindly explain thanxz!!

[Buddhaheart]

The pronoun ‘it’ is neuter in gender. I still remember years ago my old grammar teacher taught us among its many uses, ‘it’ could be used for a young child (a baby or an infant) if you don’t wish to refer to the sex, but not an adult. I have reviewed many references including those you mentioned. I don’t believe this has changed.

The examples you cited are fine. The possessive form "its’ refers to an animal in the 1st sentence and a child in the 2nd.

Also, I'm theorizing that the definite article ‘the’ qualifying the student must mean the author of the sentence knows something about the student in question and hence the gender shouldn't be known!?

If I’m really stuck, I could rework the sentence to read "The student was able to speak with a clear mind."

I don’t really believe the ‘its’ here is appropriate to use. Others might’ve a different opinion. Let’s hear it.

[blouen]

I often see in books or any writings the "masculine - his" to refer to persons whose gender is unknown.


{just an avid learner as you are}

[english001]

Actually, I wrote "The student was able to SPEAK "its" MIND...." whereas, the CAPITALIZED words act as an "IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION" - to SPEAK SOMEONE'S MIND.

So, What about this??

[blouen]

Actually, I wrote "The student was able to SPEAK "its" MIND...." whereas, the CAPITALIZED words act as an "IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION" - to SPEAK SOMEONE'S MIND.

So, What about this??

I still adhere to "speak his mind" rather than saying "speak its mind". As I said above that I see writers put it as "speak his mind" with the possessive "his" used for a person with an unknown gender.

That's all I could share. Perhaps teachers can comment on this better.



{just an avid learner as you are}

[english001]

Thanks for your help...

By the way, can you see my "AVATAR"??

IF NOT, how can I show it??

[Buddhaheart]

Blouen got a point. If the gender is unknown, one could assume & use the masculine. I believe this has a lot to do with tradition more than anything else.

[Tdol]

There are different ways of handling it. Blouen's is the traditional way, some use 'his or her'. I use 'their'.