English grammar can be annoying AF.
Take, for instance, sentences referring to general people. "When < general person > goes to the store, < general pronoun > must buy zebra-striped chihuahuas. No, the problematic part of that sentence ISN'T the questionable hybrid dogs. It's that you have to write it one of a number of (highly annoying) ways.The politically correct way...
When he/she goes to the store, that person must buy zebra-striped chihuahuas.
The pretentious asshole version...
When one goes to the store, said person must buy zebra-striped chihuahuas.
The linguistically sexist route... you little...
When a person goes to the store, he must buy a zebra-striped chihuahua.
Quartz put it so well. "People of a certain age learned funny rules about writing in English. Like don’t use like. And never start a sentence with because, and, or but. Because grammar."
Because, grammar.
Ain't that the truth. Like a child asking his/her parent, "why?" Grammar commands, "Because I said so." Shut. Down. Well, I have some FAB news for you. As of May, 2017 the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) officially declared there is now a gender-neutral, singular, and plural pronoun.
Wait, I can ditch the "he/she," and just use ONE pronoun that means both?
Jumping jellyfish! Yes, you can. Hashtag: pronoun empowerment. Now, you can write the aforementioned sentence like this:When a person goes to the store, they must buy zebra-spotted chihuahuas.
