The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencil vs The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencils

Both phrases are correct, but they have different meanings. 'The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencil' implies that each person has one pencil to sharpen, while 'The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencils' suggests that each person has multiple pencils to sharpen.

Last updated: March 25, 2024 • 2206 views

The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencil

This phrase is correct and commonly used when referring to each person having one pencil to sharpen.

This phrase is used when each person is expected to sharpen only one pencil.

Examples:

The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencil before the test.

Show examples from the web [+]

It'll make Goldman sharpen their pencils a little more.
We'll provide Major Powers and his elite force... ...an accessible target to sharpen their superior skills.
Our businesses want to sharpen their ability to compete in global markets, not to be weighed down by unnecessary red tape and socialist regulation, much of which originates in Brussels and is then gold plated by our own Labour Government.
You were the one who always reminded everyone.
Rising malpractice rates tend to sharpen the mind.
You know, they say parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth.
What they like to do is sharpen their teeth on power cords.
The Council also reminded everyone that all sides in a conflict have to comply with International Humanitarian Law.
Get forensics to sharpen this up.
Been to the Black Bull first just to sharpen up.
We are here to sharpen our skills as a team.
He went to the stables to sharpen a knife.
I'll shift the backdrop to sharpen the silhouettes.
I'll prepare a tonic of Cayenne to sharpen the tongue.
There's nothing like a deadline to sharpen the mind.
Yea, nothing like an economical crisis to sharpen the creativity.
I've tried everything I can to sharpen it.
I'm relieved he's got somewhere else to sharpen his pencil.
Something to sharpen your coal with.
You have before you a gilded opportunity to sharpen your deductive prowess.

Alternatives:

The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen his or her pencil.

The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencils

This phrase is correct and commonly used when referring to each person having multiple pencils to sharpen.

This phrase is used when each person is expected to sharpen multiple pencils.

Examples:

The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencils for the art project.

Show examples from the web [+]

It'll make Goldman sharpen their pencils a little more.
We'll provide Major Powers and his elite force... ...an accessible target to sharpen their superior skills.
Our businesses want to sharpen their ability to compete in global markets, not to be weighed down by unnecessary red tape and socialist regulation, much of which originates in Brussels and is then gold plated by our own Labour Government.
You were the one who always reminded everyone.
Rising malpractice rates tend to sharpen the mind.
You know, they say parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth.
What they like to do is sharpen their teeth on power cords.
The Council also reminded everyone that all sides in a conflict have to comply with International Humanitarian Law.
Get forensics to sharpen this up.
Been to the Black Bull first just to sharpen up.
We are here to sharpen our skills as a team.
He went to the stables to sharpen a knife.
I'll shift the backdrop to sharpen the silhouettes.
I'll prepare a tonic of Cayenne to sharpen the tongue.
There's nothing like a deadline to sharpen the mind.
Yea, nothing like an economical crisis to sharpen the creativity.
I've tried everything I can to sharpen it.
I'm relieved he's got somewhere else to sharpen his pencil.
Something to sharpen your coal with.
You have before you a gilded opportunity to sharpen your deductive prowess.

Alternatives:

The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen his or her pencils.

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencil vs The teacher reminded everyone to sharpen their pencils