The only grammatical rule that singular they breaks is "do not use singular they".
It's been suggested that it "breaks the rules" because it does not follow the same pattern as the singular pronouns he, she and it; however, singular they follows the exact same pattern as singular you. The law of English grammar which singular they breaks was abandoned around 1700-ish AD when singular you replaced thou (singular they has also been in use about that long).
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-12-03 10:21 am (UTC)It's been suggested that it "breaks the rules" because it does not follow the same pattern as the singular pronouns he, she and it; however, singular they follows the exact same pattern as singular you. The law of English grammar which singular they breaks was abandoned around 1700-ish AD when singular you replaced thou (singular they has also been in use about that long).