In English people are usually he or she and things are it. A noun that denotes a male animal is said to be of the masculine gender. Examples are: boy, man, cock, horse, bull etc.

A noun that denotes a female animal is said to be of the feminine gender. Examples are: girl, woman, hen, mare, cow etc.

A noun that denotes either a male or a female is said to be of the common gender. Examples are: child, student, parent, baby, teacher, bird etc. A noun that denotes a thing that is neither male nor female is said to be of the neuter gender. Examples are: book, tree, pen, bread, rice, milk etc.

Animals, ships, cars and countries

Animals are sometimes called he or she especially when they are thought of as having intelligence or personality.

John has a pet rabbit. He is called Joe. (More natural than 'It is called Joe'.)

Some people use she for cars, motorbikes, boats and ships.

The ship has struck an iceberg. She is sinking. (OR It is sinking.)

She is sometimes used for countries. However, it is more common.

India wants to improve her trade with Japan. OR India wants to improve its trade with Japan.

He or she?

In English he is traditionally used in cases where the sex of the person is not known. He is also used in references that can apply to either men or women.

If anybody comes, ask him to wait. A teacher can't do a good job, if he doesn't have patience.

However, in modern English this usage is regarded as sexist and is usually avoided. Instead, the expression he or she is used.

If anybody wants to join the team, ask him or her to send in an application.

They instead of he/she

In an informal style, they is used instead of he or she. This usage is common after indefinite words like somebody, anybody, nobody, person etc.

If anybody wants my books, they can have it. (Less formal than 'If anybody wants my books, he or she can have it'.)
Everyone is frightened when they see a tiger. OR Everyone is frightened when he or she sees a tiger.

Note that this usage of they is sometimes considered incorrect, but it is common in educated speech.

Manjusha Nambiar is the founder and editor of Grammar English.Org. Her blog gives free English Grammar lessons, quizzes and grammar worksheets http://grammarenglish.org/english-grammar-worksheets.

[Edited by Administrator (admin) Wed, 06 Jul 2011, 03:48 PM]