>>497220
This is not standard practice. Are you ESL? You don’t do this. Singular they is accepted but ONLY as a third person term of reference for someone of INDETERMINATE gender. A person you either don’t or can’t know, used as a PC replacement for “he or she” (or just “he” depending on how formal you want to get). For example,
>If someone went to the store, they might find something cool in the comics section. They could then buy it and bring it home.
Singular “they” here refers to someone who could be male, female, or anything in between if that’s your flavor of mental illness. The meaning is clear and consistent. Compare that to this,
>If my friend Mark went to the store, he might find something cool in the comics section. They could then buy it and bring it home.
THIS MAKES NO SENSE. You don’t switch to singular they mid-reference, because it becomes incredibly confusing who you’re referring to, ESPECIALLY when you’ve JUST referenced Mark as “he,” meaning you KNOW his actual gender and have NO NEED to refer to him with indeterminate gender
I think the only way people could argue with this is if they’re (singular “they,” used to refer to someone of indeterminate or unknown gender) are illiterate, retarded, or ESL, and I’m betting ALL my fucking money on the latter