Switching pronouns mid-sentence

I know that switching pronouns when referring to the same subject mid-sentence is considered grammatically incorrect, as in,

It is very easy for one to open a program in our newest operating system, all you have to do is click the corresponding icon.

where the pronoun referring to the subject changes from "one" to "you".

Are there any situations where it is appropriate to switch? For example, should the sentence,

If it is a boy, name him Moses; if it is a girl, name her Zipporah.

be rephrased like this or not?

If it is a boy, name it Moses; if it is a girl, name it Zipporah.

Answer

Your second example definitely does not need to be rephrased, and in fact the rephrase given should be outlawed on style grounds. Performing it would be a textbook overcorrection and overapplication of the "rule" about switching pronouns.

If you require a justification, try this one: you are not actually switching pronouns at all, because a hypothetical boy-child and a hypothetical girl-child are clearly not the same entity, so you are not referring to the same subject using different pronouns.

That justification is really nonsense, though. The real operating principle is that the pronoun-agreement rule exists to prevent the grammar and style of your prose from being degraded by shifts in the subject you are addressing. Losing the spirit of the thing in an attempt to consistently apply the letter of the rule results in the failure of its original purpose.

grammatical number - Apostrophe on plurals of a word abbreviated with a symbol?

I can't find any good resources on this topic. We have an application that will abbreviate words at certain screen sizes and uses nomenclature specific to our client's fields.

One question that popped up is whether or not words abbreviated by a symbol use an apostrophe when plural.

The word in question is "dollars", which is abbreviated with "$". It's usually referred to as "{entity} Purchase Dollars", and it's a title, so title-case.

Should the abbreviation be "Purchase $s" or "Purchase $'s"?

And yes, I agree that "Amount" would be better, but "Dollars" is the nomenclature and makes sense to our clients.

Answer

Here’s a late, but possibly more thorough answer.
The answer to your general question is that the apostrophe is used to create plurals of single characters (cit. Wiki). So “p’s and q’s” is correct, or in the strange case of counting dollar signs and other symbols, I could write that there were four $’s, three &’s, and five @’s.

But in the example you cited, the previous answers are correct that the dollar sign functions as either a singular or plural noun, depending on the context. $1 = one dollar, $2 = two dollars.
Your specific case would be “Purchase $,” which looks a bit strange, but is correct.
Possibly “Purchase $$” would be more visually appealing, without breaking grammar rules.
My company also puts out communications using “$’s,” which is how I found this page.
Now I have to go tilt at some windmills...

pronunciation - "A" or "an" with words beginning with the letter H

I am wondering when it's correct to use a/an with words beginning with the letter h. For example:

an historian, a history.

I remember reading somewhere that the h is sometimes silent, in which case it's an, and when the h is pronounced, it's a. But then I also remember reading that it depends on which syllable is stressed. And I also think I read somewhere that it might differ between British and American English.

So how do I know when to use a and when to use an with a word beginning with the letter h?

uncountable nouns - Do native speakers of major English varieties actually say "a software" or "softwares"?

So I've looked up the word "software" around, and I've learned that -ware words are uncountable, and there's even a claim at the Wiktionary entry for this word that "a software" or "softwares" are a non-native thing. Which makes sense, other languages have countable words that would translate better to "program" or "app," but also to "software" as a broader concept, so when translating back into English, errors are bound to arise. But today I found that this dude named Grant who lives in Chicago and who sounds very, very much like native North American speaker of English (I haven't found anything more about him), and he keeps saying "a software" and "softwares." Are those a thing among native speakers of major English varieties (AmE, BrE, AuE)? I'm disregarding other varieties because they're not commonly taught or featured and a lot of them have quirks, probably including these ones.

Edit: It's not a duplicate, period. At least read the intent of the question, folks. Don't just knee-jerk.

Answer

'Software' is non-countable (like 'milk'). As a native American English-speaker who grew up with software (and a vested interest in it) and is nearing age 40, it seems like people who are quite computer literate and have been since before the age of smartphones will never say 'a software' or 'softwares' unless they're joking, or mis-educated, but native speakers (including business managers/owners who aren't personally into computers) do say this sometimes (much to the dismay or amusement of those who know better, such as the programmers who work for them). People who aren't into software much or who don't really know what it is have been known to erroneously say 'a software'. The younger generation, and those who started using computers at the same time, are probably more prone to misusing the terminology if they use it, since it's less common these days (they usually say 'app' instead).

'Softwares' seems to be less common than 'a software' by far, for native speakers. But, regardless of who says them, 'a software' and 'softwares' are incorrect usage—kind of like how 'a women' is incorrect and 'women' or 'a woman' are correct (I have no idea why people keep writing that, unless it's autocorrect doing it).

Instead of saying 'a software' you should say 'some software', 'a program', 'a computer program', 'an application', 'a software application', or more modernly, 'an app' (although if you're talking to an old-time computer techie, you should probably only use 'app' if you're talking about mobile apps, since they didn't grow up with that and the term became popular in the smartphone community, which wasn't always everyone).

Instead of 'softwares' you should say 'software', 'programs', 'computer programs', 'applications', 'software applications', 'apps' or such.

It should be noted that software is a much more general term than 'program' and all those other words I listed. Software can refer to programming libraries/modules, media files, and other stuff (not just runnable programs—although as you'll note in the comments, not all definitions of software are so broad as to encompass things besides programs). Anything you program as a computer programmer is software. The same is not true of the other terms. Even a chunk of code that does nothing by itself is software. Documentation for programs is considered software. Even files are software (for instance, images, text files, documents). Images and word processor documents may be software, but they're not apps, programs, etc. Everything that is stored on a hard drive is, in my opinion, software (although some, if not many, people might contend that point, and think that software has to give more direct instructions, or be part of something that does in order to be considered software). Even websites are software (but please don't call them that; just call them websites). Computer programs are things you can run and use directly (like OpenOffice, Firefox, Audacity, SynthFont, VanBasco's Karaoke Player, etc.) Computer programs are also used to open files (if they support them; like, VanBasco's Karaoke Player can open and play .midi files—but both the midis and the player are software, while the midis are not programs).

usage - Using "a tiny" in the same way as "a little"

Saying

That made me a little happier

is clearly perfectly fine, yet no one would really ever say

That made me a tiny happier,

even though both "little/tiny bit happier" are fine.

Is there some logic to this? It's perfectly clear what the second sentence means, even though it sounds "a tiny" wrong.

Answer

This is similar to what Matt Эллен said, but uses the analysis and terminology of the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. First, tiny is only ever an adjective. As such it can function as attributive modifier of nouns (e.g. a tiny flower) or predicative complement of verbs (e.g., that flower is tiny), and a few other minor functions.

The situation with little is similar when it's an adjective, but it's not just an adjective. We also have the determinative little (e.g., little water) and the complex determinative a little (e.g., a little water; a complex determinative is a single determinative made up of two or more words.) Determinatives typically function as determiner of nouns (e.g., that water), but some determinatives also function as modifier of adjectives (e.g., it wasn't that big). Most adjectives, tiny included, can't function as modifier of adjectives. Also, some NPs can modify adjective (e.g., [a city block] longer).

That made me [a little] happier 

D a little is modifier of Adj happier

*That made me tiny happier

Adj tiny can't modify Adj happier

*That made me a tiny happier

D a can't form a constituent with Adj tiny or Adj happier; Adj tiny still can't modify Adj happier

a bit

D a is determiner of N bit forming an NP

That made me [a bit] happier

NP a bit is modifier of Adj happier

a little/tiny bit

D a is determiner of N bit; Adj little/tiny is modifier of N bit

That made me [a little/tiny bit] happier

NP a little/tiny bit is modifier of Adj happier

The interesting question is how little became a determinative and how a little became a complex determinative.

grammaticality - Is "go exercising" ungrammatical or non-standard?

Friends,

I think the phrase "go exercise" is spoken in colloquial English. But I can still find the phrase "go exercising," even in Google books. Like the excerpt below:

I like to exercise, but if I'm stressed and I want to exercise, it's different than it used to be," she says. "Before, if I wanted to go exercising, it was out of anxiousness. It was not relaxing; it just made me worse. I think it's good to exercise, because the body needs to exercise, but not obsessively, and not perhaps in that moment when you are very stressed and anxious, like you're ready to run a marathon. For me, it's just walking with my dog. I do that a lot. And then I feel calm and relaxed.

Is this an American/British thing? Or is it plain wrong?

grammar - What's the difference between "you" and "one" in the indefinite?

English, especially in the colloquial, often uses you for generic statements about people. For example, When you are angry, you act less rationally is not necessarily a statement about the listener, but about people in general. However, it's also correct (as far as I know) to say When one is angry, one acts less rationally. Is there a difference between these two forms? Is one of them more correct than the other?

Answer

It's generally regarded that the two are grammatically acceptable pronouns in American English. However, "one" is also considered to be more formal than you and excessive use of the word can lead one to appear as overly haughty or pretentious. One can use the pronoun "one" as an impersonal pronoun that's representative of the average person - this generalization can lead to a sense of social superiority.

One of them isn't really more correct than the other - however, "one" can sound rather pedantic when used in relaxed or informal settings. This is realized in the object case when "one" sounds quite odd - "When lemons are handed to one, one should make lemonade."

Sources: Grammar Girl and Capital Community College Foundation