On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 at 10:09:27, Adrian
wrote:

Terry Harper ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

"Annabel Smyth" wrote in message
...

As may be, but I'm no spring chicken, and I well remember using the
"indeterminate they" when I was at school. Normally along the lines of
"Is anybody sitting there?" "Yes, they are!" (meaning the seat was
reserved). In vain did the school staff point out that "She is" would
be more correct than "they are"......

Presumably, the gender of the person sitting there would be known, though?
Can I also guess that it was a girl's school?

Very true. But I imagine that if it hadn't been, and one wanted to know
whether a seat was taken, the reply would still have been the same!

[Snip]

How scary is this, when your attribution lines are being grammar-pedanted,
and you're *defending* them....?

So why not keep them simple?
--
Annabel Smyth
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/index.html
Website updated 6 June 2004