Quote Originally Posted by MaraD_ View Post
also, im going to adjust what you wrote a tiny bit. (the last 2 were fine, but ironically should have been plural in patient/journalist)
Technically it's not what I wrote - I copied the usage examples from the Wikipedia article I'd linked in a previous post.

And I disagree that they "should have been plural". It's clear from the context that the sentence is referring to a single person of unspecified gender, with "they" able to be replaced by "he or she". It can be rephrased to be a plural, but it's not necessary, and possibly not correct depending on the context.

eg. The first sentence (or something like it) could be part of a procedure manual for how a doctor should carry out a consultation.
1. Greet the patient
2. [...]
X. Tell the patient how much they will need to pay.

You wouldn't use "patients" because it's part of a guide for how to deal with a single patient. You could use "he or she" but it's simpler to use "they".

Also on your altered example:
"The patient should be told at the outset how much one will be required to pay."
I know "one" is hardly used as a pronoun now, but that doesn't read correctly. I'm not clear on the rules but I think it needs to be used in both parts of the sentence ("one should be told at the outset how much one will be required to pay") and you can't switch them around halfway through like that. That's my gut feeling, and the examples of usage on the Wikipedia page seem to support that.