Singular They

Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentences such as:

:"''Somebody'' left ''their'' umbrella in the office. Could you please let ''them'' know where ''they'' can get it?"
:"''The patient'' should be told at the outset how much ''they'' will be required to pay."
:"But ''a journalist'' should not be forced to reveal ''their'' sources."

This use of singular ''they'' had emerged by the 14th century, about a century after the plural ''they''. It has been commonly employed in everyday English ever since and has gained currency in official contexts. Singular ''they'' has been criticised since the mid-18th century by prescriptive commentators who consider it an error. Its continued use in modern standard English has become more common and formally accepted with the move toward gender-neutral language. Though some early-21st-century style guides described it as colloquial and less appropriate in formal writing, by 2020 most style guides accepted the singular ''they'' as a personal pronoun.

In the early 21st century, use of singular ''they'' with known individuals emerged for people who do not identify as male or female, as in, for example, "This is my friend, ''Jay''. I met ''them'' at work." ''They'' in this context was named ''Word of the Year'' for 2015 by the American Dialect Society, and for 2019 by Merriam-Webster. In 2020, the American Dialect Society also selected it as ''Word of the Decade'' for the 2010s.

Inflected forms and derivative pronouns

Like the "singular ''you''", "singular ''they''" permits a singular antecedent, but is used with the same verb forms as plural ''they'', and has the same inflected forms as plural ''they'' (i.e. ''them'', ''their'', and ''theirs''), except that in the reflexive form, ''themself'' is sometimes used instead of ''themselves''.

''Themself'' is attested from the 14th to 16th centuries. Its use has been increasing since the 1970s or 1980s, though it is sometimes still classified as "a minority form". In 2002, Payne and Huddleston, in ''The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language'', called its use in standard dialect "rare and acceptable only to a minority of speakers" but "likely to increase with the growing acceptance of ''they'' as a singular pronoun". It is useful when referring to a single person of indeterminate gender, where the plural form ''themselves'' might seem incongruous, as in:

:"It is not an actor pretending to be Reagan or Thatcher, it is, in grotesque form, the person themself." — Ian Hislop (1984); quoted in Fowler's

Regional preferences

The Canadian government recommends ''themselves'' as the reflexive form of singular ''they'' for use in Canadian federal legislative texts and advises against using ''themself''.

Usage

''They'' with a singular antecedent goes back to the Middle English of the 14th century (slightly younger than ''they'' with a plural antecedent, which was borrowed from Old Norse in the 13th century), and has remained in use for centuries in spite of its proscription by traditional grammarians beginning in the mid 18th century.

Informal spoken English exhibits universal use of the singular ''they''. An examination by Jürgen Gerner of the British National Corpus published in 1998 found that British speakers, regardless of social status, age, sex, or region, used the singular ''they'' more often than the gender-neutral ''he'' or other options.

Prescription of generic ''he''

Alongside ''they'', it has historically been acceptable to use the pronoun ''he'' to refer to an indefinite person of any gender, as in the following:

:"If ''any one'' did not know it, it was ''his'' own fault." — George Washington Cable, ''Old Creole Days'' (1879); quoted by Baskervill & Sewell.
:"''Every person'' who turns this page has ''his'' own little diary." — W. M. Thackeray, ''On Lett's Diary'' (1869); quoted in Baskervill & Sewell, ''An English Grammar''.

The earliest known explicit recommendation by a grammarian to use the generic ''he'' rather than ''they'' in formal English is Ann Fisher's mid-18th century ''A New Grammar'' assertion that "The ''Masculine Person'' answers to the ''general Name'', which comprehends both ''Male'' and ''Female''; as, ''any Person who knows what he says.''" (Ann Fisher as quoted by Ostade)

Nineteenth-century grammarians insisted on ''he'' as a gender-neutral pronoun on the grounds of number agreement, while rejecting "he or she" as clumsy, and this was widely adopted: e.g. in 1850, the British Parliament passed an act which provided that, when used in acts of Parliament "words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include females". Baskervill and Sewell mention the common use of the singular ''they'' in their ''An English Grammar for the Use of High School, Academy and College Class'' of 1895, but prefer the generic ''he'' on the basis of number agreement.

Baskervill gives a number of examples of recognized authors using the singular ''they'', including:

:"''Every one'' must judge according to ''their'' own feelings." — Lord Byron, ''Werner'' (1823), quoted as "''Every one'' must judge of ic''their'' own feelings."
:"Had the Doctor been contented to take my dining tables as ''any body'' in ''their'' senses would have done ..." — Jane Austen, ''Mansfield Park'' (1814);

It has been argued that the real motivation for promoting the "generic" ''he'' was an androcentric world view, with the default sex of humans being male – and the default gender therefore being masculine. There is some evidence for this: Wilson wrote in 1560:

:"... let us keepe a naturall order, and set the man before the woman for manners sake". — Wilson, ''The arte of Rhetorique'' (1560);
:"... the worthier is preferred and set before. As a man is set before a woman ..." — Wilson, ''The arte of Rhetorique'' (1560);
And Poole wrote in 1646:
:"The Masculine gender is more worthy than the Feminine." — Poole ''The English Accidence'' (1646); cited by Bodine

In spite of continuous attempts on the part of educationalists to proscribe singular ''they'' in favour of ''he'', this advice was ignored; even writers of the period continued to use ''they'' (though the proscription may have been observed more by American writers). Use of the purportedly gender-neutral ''he'' remained acceptable until at least the 1960s, though some uses of ''he'' were later criticized as being awkward or silly, for instance when referring to:

*Indeterminate persons of both sexes:
:"The ideal that ''every boy and girl'' should be so equipped that ''he'' shall not be handicapped in ''his'' struggle for social progress ..." — C. C. Fries, ''American English Grammar'', (1940).
*Known persons of both sexes:
:"She and Louis had a game – who could find the ugliest photograph of himself." — Joseph P. Lash, ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (1971)

Contemporary use of ''he'' to refer to a generic or indefinite antecedent

''He'' is still sometimes found in contemporary writing when referring to a generic or indeterminate antecedent. In some cases it is clear from the situation that the persons potentially referred to are likely to be male, as in:

:"The patient should be informed of his therapeutic options." — a text about prostate cancer (2004)
In some cases the antecedent may refer to persons who are only ''probably'' male or to occupations traditionally thought of as male:
:"It wouldn't be as if ''the lone astronaut'' would be completely by ''himself''." (2008)
:"Kitchen table issues ... are ones ''the next president'' can actually do something about if ''he'' actually cares about it. More likely if she cares about it!" — Hillary Rodham Clinton (2008)
In other situations, the antecedent may refer to an indeterminate person of either sex:
:"Now, a writer is entitled to have a Roget on ''his'' desk." — Barzun (1985); quoted in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''
:"A Member of Parliament should always live in ''his'' constituency."

In 2015, ''Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' calls this "the now outmoded use of ''he'' to mean 'anyone, stating:

In 2016, ''Garner's Modern English'' calls the generic use of masculine pronouns "the traditional view, now widely assailed as sexist".

The rise of gender-neutral language

The earliest known attempt to create gender-neutral pronouns dates back to 1792, when Scottish economist James Anderson advocated for an indeterminate pronoun "ou".

In 1808, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge suggested "it" and "which" as neutral pronouns for the word "Person":

In the second half of the 20th century, people expressed more widespread concern at the use of male-oriented language. This included criticism of the use of ''man'' as a generic term to include men and women and of the use of ''he'' to refer to any human, regardless of sex (social gender).

It was argued that ''he'' could not sensibly be used as a generic pronoun understood to include men and women. William Safire in his ''On Language'' column in ''The New York Times'' approved of the use of generic ''he'', mentioning the mnemonic phrase "the male embraces the female". C. Badendyck from Brooklyn wrote to the ''New York Times'' in a reply:

By 1980, the movement toward gender-neutral language had gained wide support, and many organizations, including most publishers, had issued guidelines on the use of gender-neutral language, but stopped short of recommending ''they'' to be third-person singular with a non-indeterminate, singular antecedent.

Contemporary usage

The use of masculine generic nouns and pronouns in written and spoken language has decreased since the 1970s.
In a corpus of spontaneous speech collected in Australia in the 1990s, singular ''they'' had become the most frequently used generic pronoun (rather than generic ''he'' or ''he or she''). Similarly, a study from 2002 looking at a corpus of American and British newspapers showed a preference for ''they'' to be used as a singular epicene pronoun.

The increased use of singular ''they'' may owe in part to an increasing desire for gender-neutral language. A solution in formal writing has often been to write "''he or she"'', or something similar, but this is often considered awkward or overly politically correct, particularly when used excessively. In 2016, the journal ''American Speech'' published a study by Darren K. LaScotte investigating the pronouns used by native English speakers in informal written responses to questions concerning a subject of unspecified gender, finding that 68% of study participants chose singular ''they'' to refer to such an antecedent. Some participants noted that they found constructions such as "he or she" inadequate as they do not include people who identify as neither male nor female.

''They'' in this context was named Word of the Year for 2019 by Merriam-Webster and for 2015 by the American Dialect Society. On January 4, 2020, the American Dialect Society announced they had crowned ''they'', again in this context, Word of the Decade for the 2010s.

Use with a pronoun antecedent

The singular antecedent can be a pronoun such as ''someone'', ''anybody'', or ''everybody'', or an interrogative pronoun such as ''who'':

*With ''somebody'' or ''someone'':
:"I feel that if ''someone'' is not doing ''their'' job it should be called to ''their'' attention." —an American newspaper (1984); quoted by Fowler.
*With ''anybody'' or ''anyone'':
:"If ''anyone'' tells you that America's best days are behind her, then ''they''re looking the wrong way." President George Bush, 1991 State of the Union Address; quoted by Garner
:"''Anyone'' can set ''themselves'' up as an acupuncturist." —Sarah Lonsdale "Sharp Practice Pricks Reputation of Acupuncture". ''Observer'' 15 December 1991, as cited by Garner
:"If ''anybody'' calls, take ''their'' name and ask ''them'' to call again later." Example given by Swan

:"It will be illegal for ''anyone'' to donate an organ to ''their'' wife, husband, adopted child, adopted parent or close friend."
*With ''nobody'' or ''no one'':
:"''No one'' put ''their'' hand up." Example given by Huddleston et al.
:"''No one'' felt ''they'' had been misled." Example given by Huddleston et al.
*With an interrogative pronoun as antecedent:
:"''Who'' thinks ''they'' can solve the problem?". Example given by Huddleston et al.; ''The Cambridge Grammar of the English language''.
*With ''everybody'', ''everyone'', etc.:
:"''Everyone'' promised to behave ''themselves''." Example given by Huddleston et al.

=Notional plurality or pairwise relationships

=
Although the pronouns ''everybody'', ''everyone'', ''nobody'', and ''no one'' are singular in form and are used with a singular verb, these pronouns have an "implied plurality" that is somewhat similar to the implied plurality of collective or group nouns such as ''crowd'' or ''team'', and in some sentences where the antecedent is one of these "implied plural" pronouns, the word ''they'' cannot be replaced by generic ''he'', suggesting a "notional plural" rather than a "bound variable" interpretation . This is in contrast to sentences that involve multiple pairwise relationships and singular ''they'', such as:
:"''Everyone'' loves ''their'' mother."
:I never did get into that football thing', she said after ''everyone'' returned to ''their'' seat."
:"''Everyone'' doubts ''themselves''/''themself'' at one time or another."

There are examples where the antecedent pronoun (such as ''everyone'') may refer to a collective, with no necessary implication of pairwise relationships. These are examples of plural ''they'':
:"At first ''everyone'' in the room was singing; then ''they'' began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.
:"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and ''they'' tried to. But I already knew ''they'' were there." Example given by Garner.
:"''Nobody'' was late, were ''they''?" Example given by Swan.
Which are apparent because they do not work with a generic ''he'' or ''he or she'':
:"At first ''everyone'' in the room was singing; then ''he or she'' began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.
:"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and ''he'' tried to. But I already knew ''he'' was there."
:"''Nobody'' was late, was ''he''?"
In addition, for these "notional plural" cases, it would not be appropriate to use ''themself'' instead of ''themselves'' as in:
:"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, but ''they'' instead surprised ''themself''."

Use with a generic noun as antecedent

The singular antecedent can also be a noun such as ''person'', ''patient'', or ''student'':

*With a noun (e.g. person, student, patient) used generically (e.g. in the sense of any member of that class or a specific member unknown to the speaker or writer)
:"cognitive dissonance: "a concept in psychology hatdescribes the condition in which ''a person's'' attitudes conflict with ''their'' behaviour". — ''Macmillan Dictionary of Business and Management'' (1988), as cited by Garner.
:"A starting point would be to give more support to ''the company secretary''. ''They'' are, or should be, privy to the confidential deliberations and secrets of the board and the company. —Ronald Severn. "Protecting the Secretary Bird". ''Financial Times'', 6 January 1992; quoted by Garner.
*With representatives of a class previously referred to in the singular
:"I had to decide: Is ''this person'' being irrational or is he right? Of course, ''they'' were often right." — Robert Burchfield in ''U.S. News & World Report'' 11 August 1986, as cited in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''
Even when referring to a class of persons of known sex, ''they'' is sometimes used:
:"I swear more when I'm talking to ''a boy'', because I'm not afraid of shocking ''them''". From an interview.
:"''No mother'' should be forced to testify against ''their'' child".
''They'' may also be used with antecedents of mixed genders:
:"Let me know if ''your father or your mother'' changes ''their'' mind." Example given by Huddleston et al.
:"Either ''the husband or the wife'' has perjured ''themself''." Here ''themself'' might be acceptable to some, ''themselves'' seems less acceptable, and ''himself'' is unacceptable. Example given by Huddleston et al.
Even for a definite known person of known sex, ''they'' may be used in order to ignore or conceal the sex.
:"I had ''a friend'' in Paris, and ''they'' had to go to hospital for a month." (definite person, not identified)
The word ''themself'' is also sometimes used when the antecedent is known or believed to be a single person:
:"''Someone'' has apparently locked ''themself'' in the office." cceptability questionable

Use for specific, known people, including non-binary people

Known individuals may be referred to as ''they'' if the individual's gender is unknown to the speaker.

A known individual may also be referred to as ''they'' if the individual is non-binary or genderqueer and considers ''they'' and derivatives as appropriate pronouns. Several social media applications permit account holders to choose to identify their gender using one of a variety of non-binary or genderqueer options, such as ''genderfluid'', ''agender'', or ''bigender'', and to designate pronouns, including ''they''/''them'', which they wish to be used when referring to them. Explicitly designating one's pronouns as ''they''/''them'' increases the chance that people will interpret "they" as singular. Though "singular ''they''" has long been used with antecedents such as ''everybody'' or generic persons of unknown gender, this use, which may be chosen by an individual, is recent. The earliest recorded usage of this sense documented by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' is in a tweet from 2009; the journal ''American Speech'' documents an example from 2008 in an article in the journal ''Women's Studies Quarterly''. As of 2020, singular ''they'' is the most popular pronoun set used by non-binary people. Approximately 80% consider it appropriate for themselves.

The singular ''they'' in the meaning "gender-neutral singular pronoun for a known person, as a non-binary identifier" was chosen by the American Dialect Society as their "Word of the Year" for 2015. In 2016, the American Dialect Society wrote:

The vote followed the previous year's approval of this use by ''The Washington Post'' style guide, when Bill Walsh, the ''Post''s copy editor, said that the singular ''they'' is "the only sensible solution to English's lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun".

In 2019, the non-binary ''they'' was added to Merriam-Webster's dictionary.

The first non-binary main character on North American television appeared on the Showtime drama series ''Billions'' in 2017, with Asia Kate Dillon playing Taylor Mason. Both actor and character use singular ''they''.

Acceptability and prescriptive guidance

Though both generic ''he'' and generic ''they'' have long histories of use, and both are still used, both are also systematically avoided by particular groups.

Style guides that avoid expressing a preference for either approach sometimes recommend recasting a problem sentence, for instance replacing generic expressions with plurals to avoid the criticisms of either party.

The use of singular ''they'' may be more accepted in British English than in American English, or vice versa.

Usage guidance in American style guides

''Garner's Modern American Usage''

''Garner's Modern American Usage'' (2nd ed., 2003) recommends cautious use of singular ''they'', and avoidance where possible because its use is stigmatized.
:"Where noun–pronoun disagreement can be avoided, avoid it. Where it can't be avoided, resort to it cautiously because some people will doubt your literacy ..."
Garner suggests that use of singular ''they'' is more acceptable in British English:
:"Speakers of resist this development more than speakers of , in which the indeterminate ''they'' is already more or less standard."
and apparently regrets the resistance by the American language community:
:"That it sets many literate Americans' teeth on edge is an unfortunate obstacle to what promises to be the ultimate solution to the problem."
He regards the trend toward using singular ''they'' with antecedents like ''everybody'', ''anyone'' and ''somebody'' as inevitable:
:"Disturbing though these developments may be to purists, they're irreversible. And nothing that a grammarian says will change them."

''The Chicago Manual of Style''

In the 14th edition (1993) of ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', the University of Chicago Press explicitly recommended using singular ''they'' and ''their'', noting a "revival" of this usage and citing "its venerable use by such writers as Addison, Austen, Chesterfield, Fielding, Ruskin, Scott, and Shakespeare."
From the 15th edition (2003), this was changed. In Chapter 5 of the 17th edition (2017), now written by Bryan A. Garner, the recommendations are:

The American Heritage Book of English Usage (1996)

According to ''The American Heritage Book of English Usage'' and its usage panel of selected writers, journalism professors, linguists, and other experts, many Americans avoid use of ''they'' to refer to a singular antecedent out of respect for a "traditional" grammatical rule, despite use of singular ''they'' by modern writers of note and mainstream publications:

''Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association''

The 7th edition of the American Psychological Association's '' Publication Manual'', released in October 2019, advises using singular "they" when gender is unknown or irrelevant, and gives the following example:

APA style also endorses using they/them if it is someone's (for example, a non-binary person's) preferred pronoun set.

Strunk & White's ''The Elements of Style''

William Strunk Jr. & E. B. White, the original authors of ''The Elements of Style'', found use of ''they'' with a singular antecedent unacceptable and advised use of the singular pronoun (''he''). In the 3rd edition (1979), the recommendation was still:

The assessment, in 1979, was:

In the 4th edition (2000), use of singular ''they'' was still proscribed against, but use of generic ''he'' was no longer recommended.

Joseph M. Williams's ''The Basics of Clarity and Grace'' (2009)

Joseph M. Williams, who wrote a number of books on writing with " clarity and grace", discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions when faced with the problem of referring to an antecedent such as ''someone'', ''everyone'', ''no one'' or a noun that does not indicate gender and suggests that this will continue to be a problem for some time. He "suspect that eventually we will accept the plural ''they'' as a correct singular" but states that currently "formal usage requires a singular pronoun".

''The Little, Brown Handbook'' (1992)

According to ''The Little, Brown Handbook'', most experts – and some teachers and employers – find use of singular ''they'' unacceptable:

It recommends using ''he or she'' or avoiding the problem by rewriting the sentence to use a plural or omit the pronoun.

''Purdue Online Writing Lab''

The ''Purdue Online Writing Lab'' (''OWL'') states that "grammar shifts and changes over time", that the use of singular ''they'' is acceptable, and that singular "they" as a replacement for "he" or "she" is more inclusive:

''The Washington Post''

''The Washington Posts stylebook, as of 2015, recommends trying to "write around the problem, perhaps by changing singulars to plurals, before using the singular they as a last resort" and specifically permits use of ''they'' for a "gender-nonconforming person".

''Associated Press Stylebook''

The ''Associated Press Stylebook'', as of 2017, recommends: "They/them/their is acceptable in limited cases as a singular and-or gender-neutral pronoun, when alternative wording is overly awkward or clumsy. However, rewording usually is possible and always is preferable."

''The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing''

In ''The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing'', Casey Miller and Kate Swift accept or recommend singular uses of ''they'' in cases where there is an element of semantic plurality expressed by a word such as "everyone" or where an indeterminate ''person'' is referred to, citing examples of such usage in formal speech. They also suggest rewriting sentences to use a plural ''they'', eliminating pronouns, or recasting sentences to use "one" or (for babies) "it".

Usage guidance in British style guides

In the first edition of ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (published in 1926) use of the generic ''he'' is recommended. It is stated that singular ''they'' is disapproved of by grammarians. Numerous examples of its use by eminent writers in the past are given, but it is stated that "few good modern writers would flout rammariansso conspicuously as Fielding and Thackeray", whose sentences are described as having an "old-fashioned sound".

The second edition, ''Fowler's Modern English Usage'' (edited by Sir Ernest Gowers and published in 1965) continues to recommend use of the generic ''he''; use of the singular ''they'' is called "the popular solution", which "sets the literary man's teeth on edge". It is stated that singular ''they'' is still disapproved of by grammarians but common in colloquial speech.

According to the third edition, ''The New Fowler's Modern English Usage'' (edited by Robert Burchfield and published in 1996) singular ''they'' has not only been widely used by good writers for centuries, but is now generally accepted, except by some conservative grammarians, including the Fowler of 1926, who, it is argued, ignored the evidence:

''The Complete Plain Words'' was originally written in 1948 by Ernest Gowers, a civil servant, in an attempt by the British civil service to improve "official English". A second edition, edited by Sir Bruce Fraser, was published in 1973. It refers to ''they'' or ''them'' as the "equivalent of a singular pronoun of common sex" as "common in speech and not unknown in serious writing " but "stigmatized by grammarians as usage grammatically indefensible. The book's advice for "official writers" (civil servants) is to avoid its use and not to be tempted by its "greater convenience", though "necessity may eventually force it into the category of accepted idiom".

A new edition of ''Plain Words'', revised and updated by Gowers's great-granddaughter, Rebecca Gowers, was published in 2014.
It notes that singular ''they'' and ''them'' have become much more widespread since Gowers' original comments, but still finds it "safer" to treat a sentence like 'The reader may toss their book aside' as incorrect "in formal English", while rejecting even more strongly sentences like
:"There must be opportunity for the individual boy or girl to go as far as his keenness and ability will take him."

''The Times Style and Usage Guide'' (first published in 2003 by ''The Times'' of London) recommends avoiding sentences like
:"If someone loves animals, they should protect them."
by using a plural construction:
:"If people love animals, they should protect them."

''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage'' (2004, Cambridge University Press) finds singular ''they'' "unremarkable":

It expresses several preferences.
*"Generic/universal ''their'' provides a gender-free pronoun, avoiding the exclusive ''his'' and the clumsy ''his/her''. It avoids gratuitous sexism and gives the statement broadest reference ... ''They'', ''them'', ''their'' are now freely used in agreement with singular indefinite pronouns and determiners, those with universal implications such as any(one), every(one), no(one), as well as each and some(one), whose reference is often more individual ..."

''The Economist Style Guide'' refers to the use of ''they'' in sentences like
:"We can't afford to squander anyone's talents, whatever colour their skin is."
as "scrambled syntax that people adopt because they cannot bring themselves to use a singular pronoun".

''New Hart's Rules'' (Oxford University Press, 2012) is aimed at those engaged in copy editing, and the emphasis is on the formal elements of presentation including punctuation and typeface, rather than on linguistic style, although – like ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' – it makes occasional forays into matters of usage. It advises against use of the purportedly gender-neutral ''he'', and suggests cautious use of ''they'' where ''he or she'' presents problems.

The 2011 edition of the ''New International Version Bible'' uses singular ''they'' instead of the traditional ''he'' when translating pronouns that apply to both genders in the original Greek or Hebrew. This decision was based on research by a commission that studied modern English usage and determined that singular ''they'' (''them''/''their'') was by far the most common way that English-language speakers and writers today refer back to singular antecedents such as ''whoever'', ''anyone'', ''somebody'', ''a person'', ''no one'', and the like."

The British edition of ''The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing'', modified in some respects from the original US edition to conform to differences in culture and vocabulary, preserved the same recommendations, allowing singular ''they'' with semantically plural terms like "everyone" and indeterminate ones like "person", but recommending a rewrite to avoid.

Australian usage guidance

The Australian ''Federation Press Style Guide for Use in Preparation of Book Manuscripts'' recommends "gender-neutral language should be used", stating that use of ''they'' and ''their'' as singular pronouns is acceptable.

Usage guidance in English grammars

According to ''A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language'' (1985):

''The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language'' discusses the prescriptivist argument that ''they'' is a plural pronoun and that the use of ''they'' with a singular "antecedent" therefore violates the rule of agreement between antecedent and pronoun, but takes the view that ''they'', though ''primarily'' plural, can also be singular in a secondary ''extended'' sense, comparable to the purportedly extended sense of ''he'' to include female gender.

Use of singular ''they'' is stated to be "particularly common", even "stylistically neutral" with antecedents such as ''everyone'', ''someone'', and ''no one'', but more restricted when referring to common nouns as antecedents, as in
:"''The patient'' should be told at the outset how much ''they'' will be required to pay."
:"''A friend of mine'' has asked me to go over and help ''them'' ..."

Use of the pronoun ''themself'' is described as being "rare" and "acceptable only to a minority of speakers", while use of the morphologically plural ''themselves'' is considered problematic when referring to ''someone'' rather than ''everyone'' (since only the latter implies a plural set).

There are also issues of grammatical acceptability when reflexive pronouns refer to singular noun phrases joined by ''or'', the following all being problematic:
:"Either the husband or the wife has perjured ''himself''." ngrammatical:"Either the husband or the wife has perjured ''themselves''." f questionable grammaticality:"Either the husband or the wife has perjured ''themself''." ypically used by only some speakers of Standard English

On the motivation for using singular ''they'', ''A Student's Introduction to English Grammar'' states:

The alternative ''he or she'' can be "far too cumbersome", as in:
:"''Everyone'' agreed that he or she would bring his or her lunch with ''him or her''.
or even "flatly ungrammatical", as in
:"''Everyone's'' here, isn't ''he or she''?

"Among younger speakers", use of singular ''they'' even with definite noun-phrase antecedents finds increasing acceptance, "sidestepping any presumption about the sex of the person referred to", as in:

:"You should ask ''your partner'' what ''they'' think."
:"''The person'' I was with said ''they'' hated the film." Example given by Huddleston et al.

Grammatical and logical analysis

Notional agreement

''Notional agreement'' is the idea that some uses of ''they'' might refer to a grammatically singular antecedent seen as semantically plural:
:Tis meet that some more audience than ''a mother'', since nature makes ''them'' partial, should o'erhear the speech." —Shakespeare, ''Hamlet'' (1599); quoted in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''.
:"''No man'' goes to battle to be killed." ... "But ''they'' do get killed." —George Bernard Shaw, quoted in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''

According to ''notional agreement'', in the Shakespeare quotation ''a mother'' is syntactically singular, but stands for all mothers; and in the Shaw quotation ''no man'' is syntactically singular (taking the singular form ''goes''), but is semantically plural (''all'' go o killnot to be killed), hence idiomatically requiring ''they''. Such use, which goes back a long way, includes examples where the sex is known, as in the above examples.

Distribution

Distributive constructions apply a ''single'' idea to ''multiple'' members of a group.
They are typically marked in English by words like ''each'', ''every'' and ''any''. The simplest examples are applied to groups of two, and use words like ''either'' and ''or'' – "Would you like tea or coffee?". Since distributive constructions apply an idea relevant to each individual in the group, rather than to the group as a whole, they are most often conceived of as singular, and a singular pronoun is used:

:"England expects that every man will do his duty." — Nelson (1805, referring to a fleet crewed by male sailors)
:"Every dog hath his day." — John Ray, ''A Collection of English Proverbs'' (1670), originally from Plutarch, ''Moralia'', c. 95 AD, regarding the death of Euripides.

However, many languages, including English, show ambivalence in this regard. Because distribution also requires a group with more than one member, plural forms are sometimes used.

Referential and non-referential anaphors

The singular ''they'', which uses the same verb form that plurals do, is typically used to refer to an indeterminate antecedent, for example:

:"The ''person'' you mentioned, are ''they'' coming?"

In some sentences, typically those including words like ''every'' or ''any'', the morphologically singular antecedent does not refer to a single entity but is " anaphorically linked" to the associated pronoun to indicate a set of pairwise relationships, as in the sentence:

:"''Everyone'' returned to ''their'' seats." (where each person is associated with one seat)

Linguists like Steven Pinker and Rodney Huddleston explain sentences like this (and others) in terms of bound variables, a term borrowed from logic. Pinker prefers the terms ''quantifier'' and ''bound variable'' to ''antecedent'' and '' pronoun''. He suggests that pronouns used as "variables" in this way are more appropriately regarded as homonyms of the equivalent referential pronouns.

The following shows different types of anaphoric reference, using various pronouns, including ''they'':

*Coreferential, with a definite antecedent (the antecedent and the anaphoric pronoun both refer to the same real-world entity):
::"Your ''wife'' phoned but ''she'' didn't leave a message."
*Coreferential with an indefinite antecedent:
::"One of your ''girlfriends'' phoned, but ''she'' didn't leave a message."
::"One of your ''boyfriends'' phoned, but ''he'' didn't leave a message."
::"One of your ''friends'' phoned, but ''they'' didn't leave a message."
*Reference to a hypothetical, indefinite entity
::"If you had an unemployed ''daughter'', what would you think if ''she'' wanted to accept work as a mercenary?"
::"If you had an unemployed ''child'', what would you think if ''they'' wanted to accept work as a mercenary?"
*A bound variable pronoun is anaphorically linked to a quantifier (no single real-world or hypothetical entity is referenced; examples and explanations from Huddleston and Pullum, ''The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language''):
::"''No one'' put ''their'' hand up." pproximately: "There is no person ''x'' such that ''x'' put ''x''s hand up."::"''Every car'' had ''its'' windscreen broken." pproximately: "For every car ''x'', ''x'' had ''x''s windscreen broken."

Cognitive efficiency

A study of whether "singular ''they''" is more "difficult" to understand than gendered pronouns ("In Search of Gender Neutrality: Is Singular ''They'' a Cognitively Efficient Substitute for Generic ''He''?" by Foertsch and Gernsbacher) found that "singular ''they'' is a cognitively efficient substitute for generic ''he'' or ''she'', particularly when the antecedent is nonreferential" (e.g. ''anybody'', ''a nurse'', or ''a truck driver'') rather than referring to a specific person (e.g. ''a runner I knew'' or ''my nurse''). Clauses with singular ''they'' were read "just as quickly as clauses containing a gendered pronoun that matched the stereotype of the antecedent" (e.g. ''she'' for a nurse and ''he'' for a truck driver) and "much more quickly than clauses containing a gendered pronoun that went against the gender stereotype of the antecedent".

On the other hand, when the pronoun ''they'' was used to refer to known individuals ("referential antecedents, for which the gender was presumably known", e.g. ''my nurse'', ''that truck driver'', ''a runner I knew''), reading was slowed when compared with use of a gendered pronoun consistent with the "stereotypic gender" (e.g. ''he'' for a specific truck driver).

The study concluded that "the increased use of singular ''they'' is not problematic for the majority of readers".

Comparison with other pronouns

The singular and plural use of ''they'' can be compared with the pronoun ''you'', which had been both a plural and polite singular, but by about 1700 replaced ''thou'' for singular referents. For "you", the singular reflexive pronoun (" yourself") is different from its plural reflexive pronoun (" yourselves"); with "they" one can hear either " themself" or "themselves" for the singular reflexive pronoun.

Singular "they" has also been compared to nosism (such as the "royal we"), when a single person uses first-person plural in place of first-person singular pronouns. Similar to singular "you", its singular reflexive pronoun ("ourself") is different from the plural reflexive pronoun (" ourselves").

While the pronoun set derived from ''it'' is primarily used for inanimate objects, ''it'' is frequently used in an impersonal context when someone's identity is unknown or established on a provisional basis, e.g. "Who is ''it''?" or "With this new haircut, no one knows ''it'' is me." ''It'' is also used for infants of unspecified gender but may be considered dehumanizing and is therefore more likely in a clinical context. Otherwise, in more personal contexts, the use of ''it'' to refer to a person might indicate antipathy or other negative emotions.

''It'' can also be used for non-human animals of unspecified sex, though ''they'' is common for pets and other domesticated animals of unspecified sex, especially when referred to by a proper name (e.g. ''Rags'', ''Snuggles''). Normally, birds and mammals with a known sex are referred to by their respective male or female pronoun (''he'' and ''she''; ''him'' and ''her'').

It is uncommon to use singular ''they'' instead of ''it'' for something other than a life form.

See also

*English personal pronouns
*Gender neutrality in English
* Notional agreement
*Spivak pronoun
* Third-person pronoun#Historical, regional, and proposed gender-neutral singular pronouns
*Neopronoun

Notes

References

Sources

Sources of original examples

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Further reading

* Amia Srinivasan, "He, She, One, They, Ho, Hus, Hum, Ita" (review of Dennis Baron, ''What's Your Pronoun? Beyond He and She'', Liveright, 2020, , 304 pp.), ''London Review of Books'', vol. 42, no. 13 (2 July 2020), pp. 34–39. Prof. Srinivasan writes (p. 39): "People use non-standard pronouns, or use pronouns in non-standard ways, for various reasons: to accord with their sense of themselves, to make their passage through the world less painful, to prefigure and hasten the arrival of a world in which divisions of sex no longer matter. So too we can choose to respect people's pronouns for many reasons."

External links

Anyone who had a heart (would know their own language)
by Geoff Pullum. Transcript of a radio talk.
A brief history of singular ‘they’
(OED blog, Dennis Baron)
{{English gender-neutral pronouns

English usage controversies
Grammatical number
Modern English personal pronouns