{"product_id":"9780593713280","title":"Pronoun Trouble","description":"\u003cb\u003eWith his trademark humor and flair, bestselling linguist John McWhorter busts the myths and shares the history of the most controversial language topic of our times: pronouns\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe nature of language is to shift and evolve—but every so often, a new usage creates a whole lot of consternation. These days, pronouns are throwing curveballs, and it matters, because pronoun habits die hard. If you need a refresher from eighth-grade English: Pronouns are short, used endlessly, and serve to point and direct, to orient us as to what is meant about who. \u003ci\u003eHim, not her. Me, not you.\u003c\/i\u003e Pronouns get a heavy workout, and as such, they become part of our hardwiring. To mess with our pronouns is to mess with \u003ci\u003eus\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e    But many of today’s hot-button controversies are nonsense. The singular \u003ci\u003ethey\u003c\/i\u003e has been with us since the 1400s and appears in Shakespeare’s works. In fact, many of the supposedly iron-clad rules of grammar are up for debate (\u003ci\u003eBilly and me went to the store \u003c\/i\u003eis perfectly logical!), and with tasty trivia, unexpected twists, and the weird quirks of early and contemporary English, John McWhorter guides readers on a journey of how our whole collection of these little words emerged and has changed over time.","brand":"John McWhorter","offers":[{"title":"Penguin Publishing Group |  Hardback  |  2025-04-01","offer_id":46332974366975,"sku":"9780593713280","price":37.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_2cd70188-25b9-4705-ba9e-2ff8dc283fd8.jpg?v=1731527797","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9780593713280","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}