Is using he for a gender-neutral third-person correct? I know there are different opinions on this issue My question: Is using "he" for a general, gender-neutral third person still in common use for formal writing? By common use I mean, can I expect my
When would you use said he? - English Language Usage Stack Exchange A hundred years ago it also sounded normal to say said he, but customs have changed; we no longer like to use inversion with pronouns It sometimes sounds solemn because archaic language is often used for the express purpose of sounding solemn--but remember that you're reading Tolkien, who loved Old English and modelled his own writing after it
capitalization - Is it religious or merely proper to capitalize He His . . . He was swimming alone far from shore and had cramps He realized he was in danger and prayed to "god" The magazine received many complaint letters about the lack of a capital This is a very interesting and good answer It's interesting that the article cited dismisses all opinions
punctuation - When is there no comma after he says? - English . . . The comma is necessary when the quotation is being said To use you example: 'He said, "I'll be there in ten minutes ' requires a comma If, however, you're quoting someone mid-sentence you only need the comma if it's a full sentence For a short phrase like "just drive" that fits neatly into the sentence, the comma isn't necessary and neither is the capitalization You always use a comma
Which is recommended preferable between (s)he he she? Yes, both (s)he and he she are acceptable abbreviations for usage where space is at a premium and gender of a person is important s he is not a common abbreviation, and will confuse more users than the other two
Why does he not? or Why does not he? and why? [duplicate] Why doesn't he? Now Why doesn't he? is just the contracted form of 2: Why does not he? Why doesn't he? So, given that 2 is essentially 3, I'd like to know firstly, which questions are grammatical and which are ungrammatical or awkward I'd like to also know why this is the case - assuming there is some absolute contrast between 2 and 3