Help settle 2nd grade homework argument * Update with graded paper result

[OKWMom]

Its a good thing the dog's name wasn't Sybil. Then you'd be trying to figure out if "they" was appropriate.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

My DS7 and I are at a disagreement over a homework problem. Please help us by telling what you think the right answer is.

Write pronouns to replace the underlined words.

"My dog Charlie snatched a cookie."
Should it be
"He snatched a cookie."
or
"It snatched a cookie."

Thank you all in advance for your help.

It should be "he" snatched a cookie. (because we know the sex of the dog)

If the sentence read

The dog snatched a cookie.

then you can say

*It* snatched a cookie.

Because you don't know the sex of the dog.

 

[ducklite]

The Associated Press Stylebook:

animals “Do not apply a personal pronoun to an animal unless its sex has been established or the animal has a name: The dog was scared; it barked. Rover was scared; he barked. The cat, which was scared, ran to its basket. Susie the cat, who was scared, ran to her basket. The bull tosses his horns.”

Anne

 

[wheeler1]

Oh..... This reminds of the very FIRST time I was forced to write a note to the teacher admitting between my first born and I, we could not for the life of us figure out his homework....And yes, he was in second grade.....

The flashbacks are not pleasant. He is now in the 6th grade and I just tell him to suck it up.

I have no such issues with my daughter as she thinks she knows EVERYTHING. And really, so far she does.....Not sure where she gets it from.

 

[piglet too]

He got his graded paper back yesterday. "It" was what he wrote and the teacher wrote "or he" next to it. Thank you all for your help with this the other night.

 

[rt2dz]

I know this is all settled, but I found this very interesting. I'm female and for YEARS my nickname was Charlie. No one calls me that anymore, but if we ever had a girl, we were thinking of finding a name that we could nickname her Charlie.

 

[mommasita]

He got his graded paper back yesterday. "It" was what he wrote and the teacher wrote "or he" next to it. Thank you all for your help with this the other night.

Wow, so both could have been right.. I guess it makes sense.

 

[Caboosey]

Has the dog been fixed or not? That could make the difference between he or it...

 

[GoofyBaseballMom26]

I know this is all settled, but I found this very interesting. I'm female and for YEARS my nickname was Charlie. No one calls me that anymore, but if we ever had a girl, we were thinking of finding a name that we could nickname her Charlie.

I knew a girl we called Charlie, her real name is Sara. Haven't seen her since I was a teenager. You didn't grow up in Raleigh NC by any chance? ( I know, it's a long shot)

 

[JESW]

Hijack here...but rt2dz - one of my nieces is Charlotte and they called her Charlie sometimes..

 

[Beth76]

It shouldn't matter what the sex of the dog is since we know the name. You can assume that since the name is known the "person" saying the sentence that person also knows the sex. So most people will say the dog is a he. But let's say that someone has an aunt named Charlie, that person might assume the dog is a she, so then that could work too.

 

[rt2dz]

Nope to growing up in Raleigh--never even been to NC. Sorry.

Yeah, we thought about Charlotte, but we have a friend with a daughter named Charlotte & it's a little too Sex in the City for me. Also thought about Charlize, but didn't want people to think we were naming her after the actress.

The funny thing is though, my name is nothing even close to Charlie. I just had two older sisters and my dad to be funny one day when I was a baby called me Charlie (boy name) and it stuck until elementary school. I guess since they call people by their "real" names at school & my name is no where near a Charlie, it just sort of died out.

 

[alabamaalan]

Has the dog been fixed or not? That could make the difference between he or it...

Darn, you beat me to it.

 

[Talking Hands]

My dog is a named Charlie and is female so I would have said she.