Hi! My question actually refers to the topic which each beginner supposedly knows. But I don’t, shame on me…
So I have the following sentence (this is one of the test tasks):
Discuss your plans with your friend and motivate THEM.
I am sure for 100% that the word “friend” should be in the singular form and THEM refers to PLANS. So the task is to justify plans which I have suggested.
But is it right to use “they” when referring to inanimate objects? And if not, which pronoun should be used in such cases, and in the sentence above?
“Discuss your plans with your friend(s) and motivate THEM”, is correct, but if you consider THEM to be the plans, then … commence, put them in motion, activate, begin, the list is almost endless, but REALLY, none is suitable. Motivating your friends is the most fitting.
Dear Lenakul…actually I don’t know if I have the right to answer the question, but I can give you the idea that I have about this topic. I remember one day in the past , our teacher asked us to write a one paragraph about the TV programs , I used a plural inanimate word, I used the pronoun “it” to refer to this word , but the teacher taught me that in spite of the word is inanimate we don’t use the pronoun "it ", we will use “they” or “them” because it is a plural one…I have applied this rule ever since…This what I have…
peace and love
Thank you very much, things are becoming clearer!
To Kitosdad: I am really sorry. The catch is that I just wanted to shorten the task. But originally it was like this:
“You and your foreign friend who is in Saint Petersburg now аге planning what to do аt the weekend. Ask when he/she is frее, discuss your PLANS and motivate THEM.”
This is a precise copy of what my teacher gave me:)