Jun 23rd 2009 00:24 luca　流光
1) I read that 'it' as a he/she, that is to avoid to use a gender specific pronoun the neuter is used instead. It's more often used 'they' though, but I think in this case 'they' would be associated with both the child and the animal.
For the example: A colleague of mine wrote me today. They wanted to know whether ... -- This 'they' is a singular 'they'.
In your example: A child can form a relationship with an animal even when *they* can not do so with an adult -- it sounds like the pronoun refers to both the child and the animal, so the journalist had preferred 'it' instead.

(2) it means that the owner has to think ahead of their pets, so this will strengthen their cognitive abilities, not to mention the physical ones. I think that 'one jump ahead' is metaphorical and doesn't necessarily refer to a physical jump.

Hope it helps.

Jun 23rd 2009 00:33 beanie.bop
Even though you can use the pronoun "it" when referring to a child, it's best to use he or she. Generally, people only use it when they don't know the gender, and we are more likely to use "it" regarding animals, not people. It sounds rude to call someone else's child an "it", so stick to using it for animals only...and even then, it's better if you just find out what gender it is.

Also the sentence means that the animal is smart enough that you have to out think it. "One jump ahead" isn't in the literal sense. The person "gets smarter" as a result of having to think so much, or expect what the dog is going to do.

Your English is very good by the way!

Jun 23rd 2009 02:11 hivernoir
1) I completely agree with beanie.bop, avoid using 'it' when talking about any person and be careful if you use 'they' instead of 's/he', mainly because it is not grammatically correct to use 'they' despite many English speakers using it. I just wanted you to be aware of that, seeing as I only found that out for myself over the last year or two!

Jun 23rd 2009 06:21 ryankun
I agree that you should not use "it" when speaking about someone's child. Perhaps it is more acceptable in a situation in which you are generically referring to any infant, such as in a textbook. It seems the example above was something to that effect. However, "it" is not good to use in most situations. There was a book about a child who was abused by his mother titled "A Child Called It." The mother would call him "it" instead of using his name, and subjected him to many extreme kinds of abuse. In this way, the pronoun "it" can be considered derogatory.

Also, I think it has become more common to use "they" when referring to someone with unknown gender, even in the singular case. I think he/she (or s/he) works ok in formal writing when it is impossible to specify the gender. However, it's best to figure out the gender first or avoid using gender words completely. Here are some examples:

Unacceptable/Confusing: Is it ok to bring a child along? Will there be things for it to do?
Acceptable: Is it ok to bring a child along? Will there be things for him/her to do?
Better: Can children attend? Will there be things for them to do?

Depending on the situation, it may be better yet to say the following:
Can I bring my niece along? Will there be things for her to do?

In this case, using "him/her" is acceptable, but it seems a little strange. It makes the reader wonder why they do not know the gender. Using "they" is better because it does not draw attention to the fact that the gender is not being specified. Using "her" is probably best because it seems much more open and friendly. In the U.S. people seem to be pretty open and relaxed about themselves and it tends to make others feel at ease.

Jun 23rd 2009 09:18 ｼﾞｬｽ
Hey Amelia姫! I've missed you on skype! Please, we have to talk again soon!

The pronoun "it" would be ok when talking about animal, such at pets etc, but not when referring to children. Maybe if the sex is unknown, like when someone is pregnant, you may say, "I hope it is a healthy baby". However, "I hope he or she is a healthy baby" would be better.

"To keep one step ahead", means to be able to predict what the dog is going to do before the dog does it. It does meet to literally keep one step or jump ahead :)

またね！

Jun 23rd 2009 12:29 ying
There are probably mistakes in this but the second sentence is kind of like 賢い犬の先を読む（一歩先んじてる）ことは、飼い主にもっと頭を使わせたり、注意を払わせたりします。　Keeping "one step ahead" is an idiom and it means to take precautions.

"You must be one step ahead of your baby (hiding sharp objects, blocking stairs and electrical outlets, etc.) so that he or she doesn't get injured." nadonado.

Jun 23rd 2009 23:55 Micamelia
Thank you very much, everyone!!
Your advice was greatly helpful! XD

Sep 15th 2009 11:01 dryplace