2. Nouns denoting objects whose sex is disregarded are neuter; as, It is a pretty child, The wolf is the most savage of its race.
3. Collective nouns referring to a group of individuals as a unit are neuter; as, The jury gives its verdict, The committee makes its report.
An animal named may be regarded as masculine; feminine, or neuter, according to the characteristics the writer fancies it to possess; as, The wolf seeks his prey, The mouse nibbled her way into the box, The bird seeks its nest.
Certain nouns may be applied to persons of either sex. They are then said to be of Common Gender. There are no pronouns of common gender; hence those nouns are referred to as follows:
1. By masculine pronouns when known to denote males; as, My class-mate (known to be Harry) is taking his examinations.
2. By feminine pronouns when known to denote females; as, Each of the pupils of the Girls High School brought her book.
3. By masculine pronouns when there is nothing in the connection of the thought to show the sex of the object; as, Let every person bring his book.
21. Number of Pronouns. A more common source of error than disagreement in gender is disagreement in number. They, their, theirs, and them are plural, but are often improperly used when only singular pronouns should be used. The cause of the error is failure to realize the true antecedent.
If anybody makes that statement, they are misinformed. This sentence is wrong. Anybody refers to only one person; both any and body, the parts of the word, denote the singular. The sentence should read, If anybody makes that statement, he is misinformed. Similarly, Let everybody keep their peace, should read, Let everybody keep his peace.
22. Compound Antecedents. Two or more antecedents connected by or or nor are frequently referred to by the plural when the singular should be used. Neither John nor James brought their books, should read, Neither John nor James brought his books. When a pronoun has two or more singular antecedents connected by or or nor, the pronoun must be in the singular number; but if one of the antecedents is plural, the pronoun must, also, be in the plural; as, Neither the Mormon nor his wives denied their religion.