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Grammar Police "Metropolitan Diary" section of the NY TIMES (June 1, 1998) |
| Visiting an editor at Random House, I stepped
into a crowded elevator and found myself pressed close to the control panel.
"Has everyone got their floors?" I asked. After a moment's silence, a young female voice from the rear said, "His or her." "I beg your pardon?" I said. "His or her. It's 'Has everyone got his or her floors?' Your pronouns don't agree." "And shouldn't it be 'his or her floor',
not 'floors'?" a young man piped up.
"And wouldn't it be better to say 'Does everybody have?' rather than 'Has everybody got?'" a third voice chimed in. I stood corrected - and red faced. But I was glad to know that good grammar is alive and well. |
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