I give up. I know it’s been acceptable since Jan. 8 of this year, and I’ve tried–really tried–but the grammarian in me cringes. As of right now, however, I promise to do it!
What I’m talking/cringing about is the fact that the American Dialect Society last January declared “they” as their word of the (2015) year, pronouncing it proper to use as a singular pronoun. These people are no grammar slouches; they’re a group of 200+ linguists who have, since 1889, been studying North American English. They know what they’re talking about (sigh).
I admit that it’s easier. How often I’ve agonized over having to use “he/she,” “one,” or the cutesy “(s)he.” Now, instead of saying, “I hate the grammarian who thinks he/she/(s)he/one is smarter than I am, ” I say “I hate the grammarian who thinks they are smarter than I am.”
Either way, he/she/(s)he/they is smarter.