Thursday, July 26, 2012

grammar - Can a word "it" be used to refer to a person as well?











If so, could anyone give an example pls?


Answer



It is almost never appropriate to use it for a person. Sometimes, we seem to use it when asking about somebody's gender. E.g.:




A: My wife's had a baby!



B: Is it a boy or a girl?




A: It's a boy!




but here it is just a dummy pronoun.



If you don't know the gender, you have the following options:




  1. Use an arbitray gender and stick to it (usually he).


  2. Use he / she.

  3. Use they. (This is the most "natural" way for native English speakers, although some consider it a little informal.)

  4. Use a descriptive noun. E.g. the customer.



Note that it is very offensive to refer to transexuals, transvestites, hermaphrodites, and so on as it. If the person adopts a male name, use he. If the person adopts a female name, use she.


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