Everybody, every person -> his/her/its?

[Nightmare85]

Hello,
I don't know what to use in these sentences:
Every person has his own lifestyle.
Everybody has his own lifestyle.

his = male
her = female
its = thing

Can we just use his for everybody and every person?
That sounds a bit strange since not every person is male.

P.S: I know we could just say: "... has an own lifestyle", but I want to know the other way, too.

Cheers!

 

[bhaisahab]

Hello,
I don't know what to use in these sentences:
Every person has his own lifestyle.
Everybody has his own lifestyle.

his = male
her = female
its = thing

Can we just use his for everybody and every person?
That sounds a bit strange since not every person is male.

P.S: I know we could just say: "... has an own lifestyle", but I want to know the other way, too.

Cheers!

Try, "Everyone has their own lifestyle".

 

[Nightmare85]

Thanks, but I always thought "everyone" is singular.
So I guess this is an exception

Cheers!

 

[IHIVG]

I always thought "everyone" is singular.

And it is.
I think 'their' is just somewhat of a universal pronoun here, used specifically to solve this 'his/her' problem. It would be terrible if we would always have to use two words where one would perfectly suffice.

 

[Barb_D]

In another forum, I just got this link. I love it.

Singular "their" in Jane Austen and elsewhere: Anti-pedantry page