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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Pronoun Usage

Video Resources

Video Resources

How to use pronouns

Watch the video below by Lund University to help you use the correct pronouns in your writing:

References:

Lee, C. (2019). Welcome, Singular ‘They’. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/singular-they

Pronoun Usage

A pronoun (e.g., he, she, it, they) is a word used in the place of a noun, which is used to represent people, things, and ideas. In writing, readers often become confused when a pronoun is used without a clear indication of what noun it is replacing (the antecedent). Make sure it is clear to whom or what your pronoun is referring.

Examples:

  • Incorrect: 
    • The red team was losing to the blue team, but they had a lot of injured players. [Which team had a lot of injured players? It is unclear because the pronoun ‘they’ is supposed to refer to the noun that immediately precedes it, but it also matches the other noun in the sentence.]
  • Correct A: 
    • The blue team was winning against the red team, but the red team had a lot of injured players.
  • Correct B:
    • The red team had many injured players and was losing against the blue team.

APA now recommends the use of ‘they’ to refer to individuals in the interest of non-gendered writing, i.e., if you do not know the gender of the subject or are referring to people in general.

  • Correct:
    • When the teacher went to buy some supplies, they used their credit card. [Gender unknown.]
  • Correct:
    • When the teacher, Ms. Lee, went to buy some supplies, she used her credit card. [If the gender is known, use the appropriate pronoun. In this case the teacher is a female.] 
This table goes over common pronouns in english. The table goes over examples of singular, and plural pronouns as well as the type of pronouns, like subject, object, adjective, possessive, and reflexive.
Common pronouns in English
Subject Object Adjective Possessive Reflexive
1st person singular I me my mine myself
2nd person singular you you your yours yourself
3rd person singular

he

she

it

him

her

it

his

her

its

his

hers

its

himself

herself

itself

1st person plural we us our ours ourselves
2nd person plural you you your yours yourselves
3rd person plural they them their theirs themselves