Pronouns in contracts when referring to "customer", "supplier", "buyer", etc. Thread poster: Mark Harris
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Mark Harris
France
Local time: 09:56
French to English
+ ...
I cannot make my mind up on which is more appropriate to use in contracts when referring to the "customer", the "buyer", etc., either "they/them/their" or "it/its". Take this sentence, for example:
"In this case, the shipping costs shall be adjusted and communicated to the CUSTOMER to obtain their/its agreement by means of a Purchase Order."
Now, in this particular contract it is specified that the customer is a company, not an individual, so technically "it" should be ... See more I cannot make my mind up on which is more appropriate to use in contracts when referring to the "customer", the "buyer", etc., either "they/them/their" or "it/its". Take this sentence, for example:
"In this case, the shipping costs shall be adjusted and communicated to the CUSTOMER to obtain their/its agreement by means of a Purchase Order."
Now, in this particular contract it is specified that the customer is a company, not an individual, so technically "it" should be the correct pronoun. But, to me, "communicate to the CUSTOMER to obtain its agreement" just looks wrong, perhaps just because I generally associate the word "customer" with a person, rather than an entity. In this particular case I ended up avoiding the issue by just removing the pronoun: "to obtain agreement by means of a purchase order", but I'm curious about everyone's opinion on this. To me "they/them" reads more naturally in this context, but I feel that "it" may be technically correct. ▲ Collapse
| | | | John Fossey 
Canada
Local time: 03:56
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
I have observed that in UK English an entity composed of multiple people is often referred to as they/them/their while in US English such an entity is generally treated as an individual entity, referred to as it/its.
It's really a question of what style guide you are following. If you don't know, ask your client.
In the example you give, I would treat CUSTOMER in a B2B setting as an entity and BUYER as an individual person. In a B2C setting CUSTOMER would be an individu... See more I have observed that in UK English an entity composed of multiple people is often referred to as they/them/their while in US English such an entity is generally treated as an individual entity, referred to as it/its.
It's really a question of what style guide you are following. If you don't know, ask your client.
In the example you give, I would treat CUSTOMER in a B2B setting as an entity and BUYER as an individual person. In a B2C setting CUSTOMER would be an individual.
[Edited at 2024-12-17 18:16 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 11:56
Member
English to Turkish
| Everyone's opinion? | Dec 17, 2024 |
Mark Harris wrote:
but I'm curious about everyone's opinion on this. To me "they/them" reads more naturally in this context, but I feel that "it" may be technically correct.
Surely, you're only seeking native English speakers' opinion, not the (bloody) foreigners' 
I don't understand why you're asking this question, though. Aren't you translating into English? Aren't the French or Spanish pronouns clear enough? Or are you doing monolingual stuff?
I was curious about the "they/it" issue in the case of football clubs. I didn't understand why would refer to Arsenal as "they", as in "Arsenal are in the..." To me Arse is "it", not "they"... interesting..
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Mark Harris wrote:
Now, in this particular contract it is specified that the customer is a company, not an individual, so technically "it" should be the correct pronoun.
I agree. It does sometimes sound odd, but you get used to it
In contrast, when I know we're talking about a natural person, I do use "they" as is the modern way (instead of that he/she nonsense). No-one's objected.
When the party in question might be either a natural or a legal person, I quite often try not to use a pronoun at all, but repeat the actual noun, unless it looks preposterous. Sometimes "the former" or "the latter" is an option. If I think it's feasible, I sometimes pluralise and so use "they". Last resort: stick with "it".
I suspect in future, it's possible we'll be able to refer to any singular person, natural or legal, as "they", but I'm not sure we're there yet. As stated in the title, this is merely my opinion and usage, as requested. I think we're in a period of linguistic transition and different people will have equally valid but different views.
(And yes, in everyday speach, I do indeed refer to the mighty Arse as "they". However, if they (!) as an entity were a party to a contract, I'd use "it".)
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