‘The babies were wiped by the nurse after they pooped.’
Who pooped? Using the “singular they” method, the nurse pooped, because “the nurse” is the most recent noun before “they”, so “the nurse” is the referent. Using the proper pluralization method, the babies pooped, because “the babies” as the plural noun match the plural pronoun “they”.
Using the proper pluralization method, if one wanted to convey that the nurse pooped, it could be written as:
‘The babies were wiped by the nurse after he pooped.’
It’s a less likely idea to attempt to convey, but maybe it’s an insight to how the nurse schedules his work day. If it turns out the nurse is female, then not much meaning is lost by using “he” where “she” should’ve been used. It’s much more important to get the identity and number of people correct than it is to get the sex of an unknown singular person correct.
The more likely intended meaning is that the babies pooped, and this is easily understood by readers of the original sentence:
‘The babies were wiped by the nurse after they pooped.’
… if those readers don’t allow themselves to be confused by the “singular they” agenda.
I've opened a couple YA books recently, to see what's out there, and the "they"/"them" pronouns are everywhere for a singular character. It's maddening. Completely illegible gobbledygook.
Consider this sentence:
‘The babies were wiped by the nurse after they pooped.’
Who pooped? Using the “singular they” method, the nurse pooped, because “the nurse” is the most recent noun before “they”, so “the nurse” is the referent. Using the proper pluralization method, the babies pooped, because “the babies” as the plural noun match the plural pronoun “they”.
Using the proper pluralization method, if one wanted to convey that the nurse pooped, it could be written as:
‘The babies were wiped by the nurse after he pooped.’
It’s a less likely idea to attempt to convey, but maybe it’s an insight to how the nurse schedules his work day. If it turns out the nurse is female, then not much meaning is lost by using “he” where “she” should’ve been used. It’s much more important to get the identity and number of people correct than it is to get the sex of an unknown singular person correct.
The more likely intended meaning is that the babies pooped, and this is easily understood by readers of the original sentence:
‘The babies were wiped by the nurse after they pooped.’
… if those readers don’t allow themselves to be confused by the “singular they” agenda.
I've opened a couple YA books recently, to see what's out there, and the "they"/"them" pronouns are everywhere for a singular character. It's maddening. Completely illegible gobbledygook.