Page 230 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

references to women or in general references to people of either sex. In many cases, -person is now used instead of -man.
Alice has just been elected chairperson (or chair) ofour committee.
A spokesperson said that the Minister does not intend to resign.
In some cases, new words ending in -woman (e.g. spokeswoman) are coming into use. But there is also a move to choose words, even for men, which are not gender-marked (e.g. supervisor instead offoreman, ambulance staffinstead of ambulance men, firefighter instead of fireman).
6 man
Man and mankind have traditionally been used for the human race. Why does man have more diseases than animals?
That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
(Neil Armstrong, on stepping onto the moon)
Some people find this usage sexist, and prefer terms such as people, humanity or the human race. Note also the common use of synthetic instead of man-made.
7 titles
Ms (pronounced /mlz/ or /maz/l is often used instead of Mrs or Miss. Uke Mr, it does not show whether the person referred to is married or not.
For more information about names and titles. see 363.
223 get (1): basic structures
Get is one of the commonest words in English, and is used in many different ways. It is sometimes avoided in a very formal style, but it is correct and natural in most kinds of speech and writing. The meaning of get depends on what kind of word comes after it. With a direct object, the basic meaning is 'obtain'. 'come to have'; with other kinds of word, the basic meaning is 'become', 'come to be'.
1 get + noun/pronoun: I got a letter
With a direct object (noun or pronoun), get usually means 'receive', 'fetch', 'obtain', 'catch' or something similar. The exact meaning depends on the object.
I got a letter from Lucy this morning.
Can you come and get me from the station when I arrive? IfI listen to loud music I get a headache.
Ifyou get a number 6 bus, it stops right outside our house.
Get can be used with two objects (see 610). Let me get you a drink.
Other meanings are sometimes possible.
I didn't get the joke. (= understand)
I'll get you for this, you bastard. (= punish, make suffer)
Get + noun is not normally used to mean 'become'. To express this meaning, we can use get to be + noun (see paragraph 6 below).
Wayne's getting to be a lovely kid. (NOT Wayne's getting tz itJvely !eitl.)
get 0): basic structures 223
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