Need advice on the use of pronouns, thank you, teachers^O^

Hello teachers,

Would you be able to tell me which pronoun I should use in the following answer? thanks sooooo much.

Why does a person go hic?

A person goes hic because one of the muscles that helps ( you, him, them or???) to breathe starts jerking for no good reason.



Thanks in advance, teachers ^o^

[izabela]

Hi,

Since the gender of the person is not known 'her or him' has to be used.

"A person goes hic because one of the muscles that helps her or him breathe starts.... "

Iza

PS. You might want to change your user name to 'Help Wanted', which is the correct expression, unless, of course, you are aware of it, but you like it the way it is.

Originally Posted by Helped Wanted

Hello teachers,

Would you be able to tell me which pronoun I should use in the following answer? thanks sooooo much.

Why does a person go hic?

A person goes hic because one of the muscles that helps ( you, him, them or???) to breathe starts jerking for no good reason.



Thanks in advance, teachers ^o^

Thanks for your advice, Izabela! ^o^ I have typed the username too quickly and didn't check it through before registeration. I've tried to amend it but couldn't do so.... Bad luck! >_< Well, thanks again for helping! ^o^


BTW, can we use "us" as in:
A person goes hic because one of the muscles that helps (us??) to breathe starts jerking for no good reason.

[Tdol]

If it troubles you, use 'one' as an impersonal pronoun. However, many would say 'us' or, possibly better, 'you'.

[izabela]

Hi again,

Yes, it is acceptable to use 'us', as well as 'you' in an informal conversation or writing; 'him or her' is more appropriate for formal usage, for example academic writing. This is, at least, how I was taught in school.

Iza

Originally Posted by Helped Wanted

Thanks for your advice, Izabela! ^o^ I have typed the username too quickly and didn't check it through before registeration. I've tried to amend it but couldn't do so.... Bad luck! >_< Well, thanks again for helping! ^o^


BTW, can we use "us" as in:
A person goes hic because one of the muscles that helps (us??) to breathe starts jerking for no good reason.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by Helped Wanted

Hello teachers,

Would you be able to tell me which pronoun I should use in the following answer? thanks sooooo much.

Why does a person go hic?

A person goes hic because one of the muscles that helps ( you, him, them or???) to breathe starts jerking for no good reason.



Thanks in advance, teachers ^o^

If you start with "a person", you can use "him". The single male pronoun is often used when the gender is unknown.

You could change it to "people" and then use "them".

Or, as TDOL sugessted, you could use "one", but you should then contunue with "one" for the duration.

One goes hic because one of the muscles that helps one to breathe starts jerking for no good reason.