On 17/05/12 05:25 PM, Lisi wrote:
I beg to differ. It refers to an object. He and She refer to people. Refer to http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/it. It's usage, not syntax.On Thursday 17 May 2012 20:52:36 Kelly Clowers wrote:Unlike those (and similar invented things), "they" doesn't sound horrible and ridiculously artificial.To many of us, it does. It grates badly. I have no problem at all with (s)he, I also contend that "it's she" is perfectly acceptable and can be validly parsed grammatically. The "it's" is in common usage, for example as in "it's a lovely day". "It's raining", or e.g. when announcing a birth "it's a girl". But I have to admit that the 2nd person plural has finally totally vanquished - the last living use of the second person singular that I know of had died out by the end of the 20th century. And no doubt the third person singular will eventually go the same way. Sad. Lisi
In this case, "it's a she" is incorrect because the gender is known and is crucial to the statement. Saying "Lina is a she" would be clearest. My statement was simply the most humorous.
The "It's a girl" example denotes the transition from an unknown to a known gender. Prior to ultrasound, the gender was not known until birth - hence the announcement. Once you know the gender, it is not appropriate to refer to someone as an "it".
The question of whether a fetus can be a he or she and the treatment of people undergoing gender reassignment are not topics I want to pursue in this forum. :)