SC - Pronouns

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SC - Pronouns

by karthikpandian19 » Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:32 am
This morning, the Committee on Energy and Conservation released a statement about (its/their) new proposal. The speaker of the Committee, Adam Bard, read the contents of the proposal to the President. He began: "Each citizen should consider (his or her/their) own energy-use practices while listening to this proposal. There are several issues covered, and (it/they) should all be discussed

Which appropriate one's in parenthesis can be used. I am clear with the first 2, but not the 3rd.Can anyone explain?
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by snigdha.singh16 » Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:49 am
The 3rd choice IMO should be they
'They' here refers to issues which is plural.

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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:23 am
1. its; refers to the committee.

2. Depends. In general speech or writing (as in newspapers), "their" is commonly used as a gender-neutral pronoun to avoid the awkwardness of using "his or her".

3. they; refers to issues.
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by karthikpandian19 » Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:45 pm
Bill,

for the 3rd one, is it not possible to use "it". "it" also refers plural right ? (if i am wrong please explain)
Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:1. its; refers to the committee.

2. Depends. In general speech or writing (as in newspapers), "their" is commonly used as a gender-neutral pronoun to avoid the awkwardness of using "his or her".

3. they; refers to issues.
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:23 am
"It" is always singular.
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