Sumie's question of August 23, 1999 about "their":

I notice that native speakers use 'their' for everybody, for example, 'Does everybody give their ideas?' or something. To me it sounds more convenient and reasonable than saying 'Does everybody give his or her ideas?' Is it common? I am curious.

This is actually a rather controversial question for native speakers. One aspect is known as the "sexist pronoun question." Your observation that native speakers often use "their" is correct--using "his or her" is often awkward.

Here are a few possibilities:

1. Pronouns such as "everybody" and "everyone" are singular. This means we should use a singular pronoun with them if we want to be grammatically accurate.

Did everybody bring his notebook? <or> Did everybody bring her notebook?

This, however, makes the question sexist, as we are assuming that everybody is a "he." If we use "her," then we're assuming that everyone is a "she."

Some writers will indicate at the beginning of a book that only one pronoun will be used in the book (in general statements) because of this problem. Some will use the pronoun for males throughout a book, and others will use the pronoun for females.

　

2. We can use both pronouns, as in the sentence you used:

Did everybody bring his or her notebook?

<or>

Did everybody bring her or his notebook?

This, however, is awkward when speaking, and takes away from the flow in good writing. So native speakers will use the pronoun "their" instead of "he" or "she." Grammatically, it is considered wrong, but it is very common in the spoken language because of the awkwardness of the "correct" alternative.

Some writers use "he/she" or "she/he," but the use of a slash is considered awkward by some authorities.

　

3. We can rewrite the sentence when writing, or reword it to avoid the problem in speaking, but this can take away from the flow in conversation.

Did all the students bring their notebooks?

This isn't a bad alternative, but it may sometimes change the precise meaning of your sentence.

　

4. We can ignore this guideline and say whatever we want.

Did everybody bring their notebook?

<or>

Did everybody bring their notebooks?

This sounds the most natural to me. I use this in conversation except when I'm teaching, though I do offer the above possibilities when this point comes up in a lesson.