I’m trying to understand why there is a difference between the possessive determiner and pronoun for the female gender (her vs hers) but not for the male gender (his is used for both).
“This will be discussed with him and his parents will be informed” and “This will be discussed with her and her parents will be informed” both seem correct, but I’m wondering about the origin of the fact that ‘male’ gender does not have a distinction whereas the female gender appears to have one, e.g. we would not say “hers parents”.
Is there an etymological reason for not using “hers parents”, or just a stylistic one (e.g. “hers parents” sounds odd whereas “his parents” doesn’t)?
Answer
When used as an adjective in front of a noun (like “parents”), we use a possessive determiner (“his” or “her”). When used in place of the noun, we use a possessive pronoun (“his” or “hers”) (Cambridge).
I talked to her (determiner) parents, but I did not talk to his (pronoun).
c.f.
I talked to his (determiner) parents, but I did not talk to hers (pronoun).
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Edward Swann , Answer Author : geekahedron
