Hanni9,

I agree with those who say: �Is this your teacher?�  �Yes, it is!�

The Subject in both sentences is the Non-Personal Gender, �it�.

Professor Quirk et alia, (5 other English Professors), in �A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language�, 2010, page 341, Table 6.8, �Gender distinctions in pronouns�.

�Non-Personal Gender� --- �it�.

Bruna, �I, Les Douglas, have never seen� a whale in real life, but that doesn�t mean that whales don�t exist.  It simply means that my experience of whales is limited.

How is it �clear� that the words �this man� or �this woman� are omitted in the sentence?

Here is a fictional situation.  A student and a friend are looking at a computer.  The student says: �I have been taught everything I know about Mathematics by this Computer!�  The friend asks: �So, is this (Computer) your teacher?�  The student replies: �Yes, it is!�

You make the assumption that the two conversationalists can actually see the teacher whom they are discussing.  There are many instances of �conversations� where the two individuals can not see the person being discussed and do not know if the teacher is male or female --- on the telephone; e-mails; two blind persons; etc.

�Who is making all the noise in the next room?  Is it the Teacher?�  �Yes, it is!�

Edrodmedina

I have often been asked: �Is this your brother?� (because I have four brothers).  I replied: �Yes, it is!�

Bruna, I would ask my daughter the question, and receive the answer: �That person at the end of the corridor.  Is it your Teacher?�  �Yes, it is�.

Janet att, I agree with Almaz.

Quirk et alia, page 341, �Just as a baby may be designated �it�, so a member of a non-human species may be designated �he� or �she�.

I hope that, in putting forward my point of view, I have not caused any offence to anyone, especially Bruna, who made some very valid points.  If I have insulted anyone, I apologise.

Les Douglas