Word instead of he or she

Table of Contents

  1. What word should I use instead of they?
  2. What to say instead of they say?
  3. What can you say instead of he?
  4. What words can replace he?
  5. What is a better word for she?
  6. What is a better word for as?
  7. What is difference between defining and non-defining?
  8. Where is Aeiou used?

If necessary, use “one” instead of “he or she” or “his or her.” However, one should avoid this formulation as well, if possible, since the use of “one” can be awkward. Less desirable: A person who masters the basic rules of grammar, punctuation, and good writing is likely to impress his or her supervisors.

What word should I use instead of they?

In this page you can discover 23 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for they, like: both, everybody, all, those people, others, people, he and she, men, them, themselves and the authorities.

Volume (e.g. yelled, shouted, bellowed, screamed, whispered) Tone or pitch (e.g. shrieked, groaned, squeaked) Emotion (e.g. grumbled, snapped, sneered, begged)

What can you say instead of he?

What is another word for he?

male man
chap bloke
gentleman dude
lad gent
fella hombre

What words can replace he?

other words for he

  • boy.
  • father.
  • guy.
  • brother.
  • fellow.
  • gentleman.
  • grandfather.
  • sir.

What is a better word for she?

What is another word for she?

woman lady
dame female
girl lass
gal miss
lassie dowager

What is a better word for as?

What is another word for as?

since because
inasmuch as seeing as
seeing that as long as
being as on account of
being as how being that

What is difference between defining and non-defining?

Differences Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses. Defining relative clauses add essential information to a sentence and the clause cannot be omitted. Non-defining relative clauses add non-essential information to a sentence and can be left out of a sentence without changing it’s meaning.

Where is Aeiou used?

The rule states that “a” should be used before words that begin with consonants (e.g., b, c ,d) while “an” should be used before words that begin with vowels (e.g., a,e,i). Notice, however, that the usage is determined by the pronunciation and not by the spelling, as many people wrongly assume.

Instead of “he/she,” “him/her,” “his/her,” “his/hers,” and “himself/herself” it would be: “ey,” “em,” “eir,” “eirs,” and “eirself”, or.

What can I use instead of pronouns?

“One,” “the reader,” “readers,” “the viewer,” or something similar sometimes can be used effectively in place of first-person pronouns in formal papers, but be careful not to overuse these expressions. You want to sound formal, not awkward and stiff.

What is a sagacious person?

Use the formal adjective sagacious to describe someone who is wise and insightful like an advisor to the president or a Supreme Court justice. Someone like an inspirational leader or an expert in a field who seeks knowledge and has foresight can be described as sagacious.

What do you mean by zimmi?

(dĭm′ē) Islam. pl. dhim·mis. 1. A non-Muslim subject of a state governed according to the shari’a who is granted the freedom to worship and is entitled to the protection of life and property by the state, although constrained to pay a special tax and not granted the full legal status accorded to Muslim subjects.

Who were known as zimmi?

Zimmis were those Jews and Christians who used to live under Muslism rulership. They paid a tax called Jaziya and gained the right to be protected by Muslim rulers.

What is jizya in Islamic state?

Jizyah, also spelled jizya, historically, a tax (the term is often incorrectly translated as a “head tax” or “poll tax”) paid by non-Muslim populations to their Muslim rulers.

Who were known as the dhimmis?

Dhimmi communities. Jews and Christians living under early Muslim rule were considered dhimmis, a status that was later also extended to other non-Muslims like Hindus and Buddhists.

What does the Quran say about disbelievers?

As in Quran: Prophet! Rouse the believers to wage war. If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will subdue two hundred: if a hundred, they will subdue a thousand of the disbelievers: for these are a people without understanding.

When was the jizya invented?

1414

What happens if you don’t pay jizya?

The jizya is money paid by non-Muslims so that they can keep practicing their religion. Under Islamic law, if the money is not paid, the people are to be killed or enslaved. In short, if the Islamic State is enforcing jizya on “infidels,” demands for its return are on the increase all around the Muslim world.

Is there tax in Islam?

Zakat, Arabic zakāt, an obligatory tax required of Muslims, one of the five Pillars of Islam. The zakat is levied on five categories of property—food grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods—and is payable each year after one year’s possession.

Is zakat a tax?

Zakat is considered to be a mandatory type of tax, although not all Muslims abide. In many countries with large Muslim populations, individuals can choose whether or not to pay zakat.

Which text is essential to the practice of Islam?

The Quran

How does reassessment work?

Reassessment is a process overseen by state or local government as part of the property tax process. The assessor then factors these attributes into a localized formula that takes into account recent sales of comparable properties, the rental market and replacement value of the structures on the property.

What triggers a property reassessment?

First, reassessment occurs if a change in control takes place, resulting in a new owner who owns more than 50 percent of the entity. Second, reassessment is triggered if the original co-owners cumulatively transfer more than 50 percent in the entity, resulting in a change of ownership (R 864(d)).

Why did I get a tax reassessment?

A Notice of Reassessment is a more recent assessment from CRA to request more information about something that you have reported in your income tax return. It is sent weeks, months, or years after your first Notice of Assessment, which you usually receive within a couple of weeks after filing your tax return.

Why are my property taxes higher than my neighbors?

Why do I have to pay more taxes than my neighbor whose house is newer and larger than mine? The most likely reason is that under California’s unique “Proposition 13” property tax system, the maximum assessment on real property is limited based on the value at the time it was acquired.

Does your property tax increase when you remodel?

Yes, it can. A change in your property taxes is typically a result of three factors: Changes in the amount of money required by the municipality’s budget; Whether the change in your property’s assessed value is higher or lower than the average change in property values in the municipality.

What word can replace she?

What is another word for she?

woman lady
dame female
girl lass
gal miss
lassie dowager

What can I use instead of he or she?

Instead of “he/she,” “him/her,” “his/her,” “his/hers,” and “himself/herself” it would be: “ey,” “em,” “eir,” “eirs,” and “eirself”, or. “zie,” “zim,” “zir,” “zirs,” and “zirself”

How can I replace his her?

Gender Neutral Language

  1. Rewrite the sentence to avoid the need for any pronoun at all.
  2. If necessary, use “one” instead of “he or she” or “his or her.” However, one should avoid this formulation as well, if possible, since the use of “one” can be awkward.
  3. If necessary, change the subject from singular to plural.

How do you use she or her?

1. “She” is an object pronoun while “her” is a possessive pronoun. 2. “She” is used for the subject of the sentence while “her” is used for the object of the sentence.

Which is grammatically correct this is she or this is her?

“This is she” is grammatically correct. The verb “to be” acts as a linking verb, equating subject and object. So this is she and she is this; “she” and “this” are one and the same, interchangeable, and to be truly interchangeable they must both play the same grammatical role—that of the subject.

What type of word is she?

person singular pronoun

What type of word is as?

As is a preposition or a conjunction.

What is she in parts of speech?

pronoun, singular nominative she,possessive her or hers,objective her;plural nominative they,possessive their or theirs,objective them.

What is she in English grammar?

In Modern English, she is a singular, feminine, third-person pronoun.

Can you call a city she?

In a work of fiction, using he or she for a city may be consistent with the speaking style of a character. For expository writing, I always agree with ewie, with no exceptions.

How do you use we in a sentence?

We sentence example

  1. What time are we going to leave tomorrow?
  2. We have some cold days, but mostly it is warm.
  3. We wouldn’t grow under ground, I’m sure.
  4. I wish we had never come here.
  5. If we keep cool and moist, and meet with no accidents, we often live for five years.
  6. We must not be late.

Is country a she?

Never use she to refer to a country. You’ll sound as if you either don’t know English or last studied it in 1950.

Is USA a she?

Actually, when speaking about America, we use the pronoun “she” or the adjective “her” as heard in Irving Berlin’s 1918 song “God Bless America”: “stand beside her and guide her through the night.” Another example of this is seen in the famous 1872 painting by John Gast American Progress, in which we see “Columbia, a …

Which country is referred to as her?

The reason Britain or any other country is referred to as he/she is as a term of endearment.

Can I use her for country?

Historically, “her” was commonly used as a pronoun for not only women, but also for both countries and ships (e.g. sailing vessels). However, that usage has more or less fallen out of favor, and instead “its” has become the preferred pronoun.

Why are ships female in English?

Another tradition is to consider ships as female, referring to them as ‘she’. Although it may sound strange referring to an inanimate object as ‘she’, this tradition relates to the idea of a female figure such as a mother or goddess guiding and protecting a ship and crew.

Can a company be referred to as her?

A company is it, not “he” or “she”. If you are talking about a specific person, such as the director of the company, then you would use the appropriate pronoun, depending upon whether the person is a man or a woman.

Are countries male or female?

Country is neither a masculine or feminine word. Nouns in English are not generally assigned genders. It is relatively common (although slightly old-fashioned) to refer to a country as a person when talking about it.

What are all 63 genders?

There are many different gender identities, including male, female, transgender, gender neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, and all, none or a combination of these.

What are the 4 genders?

The four genders are masculine, feminine, neuter and common.

How many sexes are there?

Based on the sole criterion of production of reproductive cells, there are two and only two sexes: the female sex, capable of producing large gametes (ovules), and the male sex, which produces small gametes (spermatozoa).

Which type of girl is best in bed?

13 things that make a woman good in bed

  • Don’t make fun of his buddy down below.
  • Get good at oral sex.
  • Be confident.
  • Drink those fancy drinks.
  • Revel in the taste of food.
  • Enjoy those flavors.
  • Exercise. If a woman takes care of her body, she is usually quite confident about it.
  • Practice your kissing skills. This is a big one.

Why do we have two sexes?

Biologically speaking, the most important difference between the sexes is that females produce eggs that are much larger than the sperm of the male. Once they’ve evolved to have different gametes, the sexes are also driven to evolve other differences. For males to be promiscuous, and females to be choosy, for example.

How many sexes are there intersex?

For biologically speaking, there are many gradations running from female to male; along that spectrum lie at least five sexes — perhaps even more. Medical investigators recognize the concept of the intersexual body.

How do I know if I’m intersex?

If a person’s genitals look different from what doctors and nurses expect when they’re born, someone might be identified as intersex from birth. Other times, someone might not know they’re intersex until later in life, like when they go through puberty.

Is Intersex a disorder?

What is a “disorder”? Intersex itself is not a disorder, rather a variation. But Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, for instance, is an inherited disorder affecting adrenal function.

Can you be born both sexes?

Ambiguous genitalia is a rare condition in which an infant’s external genitals don’t appear to be clearly either male or female. In a baby with ambiguous genitalia, the genitals may be incompletely developed or the baby may have characteristics of both sexes.

Can eunuchs have babies?

Eunuchs can now choose a gender of their liking and some can even give birth to babies, thanks to a special procedure developed at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. At least 18 of the treated patients have also given birth to babies,” said Dr DK Gupta, head of the department of paediatric surgeries.

Can a hermaphrodite make a woman pregnant?

Pregnancy in true hermaphrodites is rare. There are ten previously reported cases of pregnancy in true hermaphrodites with no reports on antenatal management. A 21-year-old primigravida Hispanic female presented at 9+ weeks gestation for prenatal care. At her birth, the patient had ambiguous genitalia.

Is a female a girl?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “woman” is defined as “an adult female human being. Many refer to females as “girls” until they are around college age, then switch to the term “young women.” When females reach the dreaded age of thirty, they are referred to as, simply, “women.”

What is they them gender?

Common non-binary pronouns Some non-binary/genderqueer people use gender-neutral pronouns. Usage of singular ‘they’, ‘their’ and ‘them’ is the most common; non-standard pronouns – commonly referred to as neopronouns – such as xe, ze, sie, co, and ey are sometimes used as well.

Is there a gender neutral title?

Mx is a title commonly used by non-binary people as well as those who do not identify with the gender binary, which was first written about in the 1970s. Among all other gender neutral titles, Mx is the most commonly used one and is accepted by government and other organisations throughout the UK.

What are gendered words?

Does ‘gendered language’ mean words that have genders in certain languages, e.g., ‘la table’ in French, or words that make gendered assumptions, e.g., ‘air hostess’? So gendered language is commonly understood as language that has a bias towards a particular sex or social gender.

Is Dutch easy to learn?

How hard is it to learn? Dutch is probably the easiest language to learn for English speakers as it positions itself somewhere between German and English.

What countries speak Dutch?

Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders) and Suriname. Dutch is also an official language of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten.

Are Dutch and German the same race?

The Dutch language is very similar to various West Germanic languages, for instance, German and English. German and Germanic are not the same and Dutch culture is distinct from German culture. Dutch people (Dutch: Nederlanders) or the Dutch, are a West Germanic ethnic group and nation native to the Netherlands.

What religion are most Dutch?

Roman Catholicism

Is it acceptable to use THEY instead of HE or SHE?

The English language unfortunately lacks a simple singular pronoun which does not specify gender. Various people have suggested new words to fill this gap, but none of them has caught on or (frankly) is ever likely to. It is not practical to try to change such a basic element of the language by sheer will.

However, children and adults alike naturally find the obvious solution to this conundrum. Rather than using the formal and awkward formula

he or she, they simply use they especially after words such as anyone and no one which are strictly singular but often imply a reference to more than one person.

This is not a new problem or a new solution. ‘A person can’t help their birth’, wrote Thackeray in Vanity Fair (1848) and even Shakespeare produced the line ‘Every one to rest themselves betake’ (in Lucrece) which pedants would reject as logically ungrammatical.

If you do not find this usage acceptable, there are alternatives. You could resort to the awkward

he or she formula or to the practice of writing he when you mean he or she (which many people find objectionable) or to recasting all your sentences to avoid the problem!Related Links:

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Frequently Asked Questions Index

From THEY to HOME PAGE



  • #1

»On the other hand, if someone wants to learn how to drive a car, he or she has to go to a driving school which comes at a price. »

At this sentence, can I replace ‘he or she’ with ‘it’?

Thanks for your help!

I see sentences with (he or she) like :

How to know if he or she is the best one for you?

Give a Person Power and He or She Will Show Interpersonal Sensitivity.

It’s possible to use just one word instead of (he or she), something like :

Give a Person Power and He Will Show Interpersonal Sensitivity

Jasper's user avatar

Jasper

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asked Apr 16, 2014 at 23:35

elhoucine's user avatar

1

One would typically say:

«Give a Person Power and They Will Show Interpersonal Sensitivity»

«They» being specifically gender neutral.

answered Apr 16, 2014 at 23:57

Johns-305's user avatar

Johns-305Johns-305

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It’s called as a ‘singular they’. When the first noun is an epicene, we can put ‘they’ to refer to that person.

Another example can be…

If a client comes to your shop, you should treat them properly. This’ll build a good relationship.

Here, the word ‘client’ is epicene and thus can be replaced with them. I’ll also mention that I have also read he/she instead of ‘singular they’. But since you are asking for a single term, it’s they as suggested by books.

answered Apr 17, 2014 at 6:27

Maulik V's user avatar

Maulik VMaulik V

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0

It is possible and, in fact, it’s very common. Some websites or books will pick one singular pronoun and stick with it for the entire site while others will alternate every page or chapter to give equal representation to both genders. As an example, this site uses masculine pronouns on the pages for even weeks of pregnancy development and feminine ones on odd weeks.

If one gender is used, historically, it’s always been the masculine unless the group being discussed is largely comprised of women. Generally, «he» is the «default gender». This practice is coming under recent scrutiny and the «singular they» is becoming more and more popular over the last decade, though it has been a valid option for centuries.

The singular they had emerged by the 14th century and is common in everyday spoken English, but its use has been the target of criticism since the late 19th century. Its use in formal English has increased with the trend toward gender-inclusive language.

So, which you opt to use is up to you but the above should be noted… if you want to look inclusive, use «they».

answered Jan 15, 2017 at 1:10

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CatijaCatija

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r/grammar - Why does he use they instead of he or she?

level 1

Just to give my native speaker two cents on this, I read that and didn’t notice the usage of they at all. It’s quite common when you don’t know the gender, don’t expect your audience to know the gender, are talking about someone the audience doesn’t know, etc.

level 2

I agree. And even if you do know the gender or don’t wish to say the gender, there’s still no requirement for the person to specify gender, using ‘they’ or ‘them’ to a particular person can be done with no particular thought at all.

level 2

Would you say this is informal language? Or would it also be fine to use «they» like this in an academic paper? I believe I did this when I didn’t know the gender of a source, but was it correct?

level 1

It’s the singular «they,» which can be used for many contexts, especially generality (they want to have a wide appeal), lack of binary gender (he or she weren’t appropriate), or not knowing the proper pronoun, so defaulting to they.

The singular «they» was Merriam-Webster’s word of the year in 2019: (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/merriam-webster-they-word-year.html).

level 1

Gender/identity recognition. “They” is considered to be gender neutral nowadays, so that people use they to replace he/she to respect others gender. But idk if academically cited yet

Edit: apparently the usage of they has been around for a very long time. Not “nowadays” fit

level 2

I often use «they» to avoid outing myself in certain social contexts. Since it’s online, we also don’t know the gender of the writer. I’ve done this to avoid implications about my own gender online as well. People often want to avoid self-identifying information online. I was taught to use «they» instead of «he/she» when I was trying to avoid gender discrimination in an elementary school English paper several decades ago. I suspect it’s nothing new.

level 2

Nowadays? It’s been this way for hundreds of years.

level 2

I’d bet 50 cents this is not a gender-identity issue.

level 1

It’s just less specific but it’s still correct. Could be to increase relatability for social media followers (female and male audience). If you don’t specify a gender, it’s up to the reader to interpret.

level 1

Warning: Politics.

I find it hard to say for certain without any additional context, but I will shoot a few arrows and see where they land.

  1. The writer does not wish for the gender of his crush to be public knowledge, and thus did not specify.

  2. His crush identifies as ‘non-binary’ or similar — ie, neither male nor female. I understand that ‘they’ is the accepted singular pronoun for these individuals.

  3. The writer does not know the gender of his crush.

  4. The writer’s crush is… multiple people?

Bonus: Assuming the writer is on a smartphone, the automated word suggestion threw up ‘they’ rather than a typical gendered pronoun and he just went with it.

level 2

Also, the general trend of English speakers moving away from gendered speech.

level 2

You missed #5:

5. The writer didn’t give it any thought at all, using «they» to refer to someone is quite normal, you don’t have to always specify someone’s gender.

level 2

Another option is that the author follows the modern use of using they to refer to a person of identified gender.

level 2

-5 It’s perfectly acceptable, and has been for a long time, to use they as a single person pronoun.

level 2

I doubt it could be number 4 because the writer said “crush” instead of “crushes”

level 2

I saw such cases at least 3 times so I don’t think it’s because of the automated word suggest

level 1

How would you grammatically follow they them singular with a verb? Is it they are or they is?

level 2

“They are” is correct, even if “they” is referring to just one person.

About Community

A subreddit for questions and discussions about grammar, language, style, conventions[,] and punctuation.



Tip: See my list of the Most Common Mistakes in English. It will teach you how to avoid mis­takes with com­mas, pre­pos­i­tions, ir­reg­u­lar verbs, and much more.

Traditionally, in English, when you had to use a pronoun for a person whose sex was unknown because it had been previously referred to as a “child”, “doctor”, “researcher”, and similar, you would say “he”, “him”, “his”, or “himself”, depending on the context. For example:

  • Take care of your child. His life depends on you.
  • You should see a doctor. He will know what to do.
  • Every researcher has asked himself at some point of his career whether his contribution to science was good enough.

Although the pronouns were masculine, the child in the first example could have been a girl, and the doctor and the researcher could be women. However, this usage is now becoming outdated, as it is seen as stimulating gender inequality. There are several options to mitigate the issue. You can use “he or she” instead of “he”:

  • Take care of your child. His or her life depends on you.
  • You should see a doctor. He or she will know what to do.
  • Every researcher has asked himself or herself at some point of his or her career whether his or her contribution to science was good enough.

As you can see especially in the third sentence, this grammatical tool soon becomes clumsy if you use it too often. Another possibility is to reword the whole sentence using the corresponding plural nouns, but this doesn’t always work:

  • Take care of your children. Their lives depend on you.
  • You should see doctors. They will know what to do.
  • All researchers have asked themselves at some point of their career whether their contribution to science was good enough.

Finally, it is becoming increasingly widespread and regarded as completely grammatically correct to use a plural pronoun for a singular noun to refer to it in a gender-neutral way:

  • Take care of your child. Their life depends on you.
  • You should see a doctor. They will know what to do.
  • Every researcher has asked themselves at some point of their career whether their contribution to science was good enough.

To me, personally, such sentences sound odd because they break the most elementary grammatical rules I have been taught in school. However, there seems to be an inevitable trend for this usage to replace gender-neutral “he, his, him” in English. Note that some authors went as far as to always use a feminine pronoun, for example

  • Every researcher has asked herself at some point of her career whether her contribution to science was good enough.

Please, don’t do that. It is unnecessary and confusing, unless it is clear from the context that you mean only female researchers.

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rainbow arcrainbow arcDo you know anyone who wants to be called they instead of she or he?

Do you know why?

It may be because they identify as non-binary. But what does that mean?


They, them, their and he, she — what’s the difference?

The words she and her in large letters

They, them, he and she are personal pronouns. We use pronouns in everyday language. It helps us talk about ourselves, other people and things.

Sometimes pronouns, like she and her, are specific to girls, and other pronouns like he and his are specific to boys.

So what happens if someone doesn’t feel like a girl or a boy? Then they might use a gender-neutral pronoun like their, they or them.
 

click the image above to watch our video about pronouns

If you’d like to check out our video about pronouns, just click the above image.

Gender — what does it all mean?

The words they and them in large letters

Have you heard of the words binary and non-binary? These words have to do with gender.

The idea that there are only two genders is called gender binary. This is used by people who feel they are either a male or a female. They use the pronouns “he” and “she.”

People who don’t feel that they fit into one of these two groups are non-binary.

Being non-binary allows them to pick the identity that feels right for them. And they may use several pronouns including “they/them.”

How many gender identities are there?

The words he and him in large letters

Gender is not just about boys and girls. It’s a rainbow of all kinds of identities.

Non-binary people feel they don’t fit perfectly into the boy or girl box. They can feel like both a boy and a girl at the same time, or even something else all together.

Gender identity is formed by the feelings a person has inside, not what they wear, how they speak or how they act on the outside.

Are there other words that can be used?

Yes, there are other terms for non-binary. These words include: non-gendered, gender-creative, genderless, genderqueer, bigender and agender.

What happens if you don’t know what pronoun to use?

Just ask them. If you meet someone and you’re unsure of their gender, just say something like: “what pronouns do you use?”

It’s hurtful to assume or ignore someone’s pronouns and/or identity. We all want to be seen and accepted as who we are.

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Sophia Alexandrova
Posted:
Thursday, April 26, 2018 1:42:05 AM

Rank: Member

Joined: 6/12/2016
Posts: 42
Neurons: 16,848
Location: Moscow, Moscow, Russia

Hello!

I would be grateful if you could cast light on the usage of «they» when referring to a singular person. For example, «Living in a dog-eat-dog environment a person has to be assertive if they want to succeed». I have read many articles in which authors claim that it is possible to substitute a singular pronoun with a plural one.

Thanks in advance!

Back to top thar
Posted:
Thursday, April 26, 2018 2:37:36 AM

Rank: Advanced Member

Joined: 7/8/2010
Posts: 28,119
Neurons: 115,230

Short answer — yes, you can use ‘they’ to refer to a singular person, without specifying their gender. It keeps the normal verb forms — they are, etc.

Long answer — some people will tell you it’s wrong, but they don’t understand that the people who taught that were just in a phase of bad teaching. It is normal, standard English. Everybody uses it, and it has always been used.

Some explanation in this thread (and probably some others, but I don’t know about them):

https://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst181052_They-showed-their-passport-s—.aspx

Quote:

Some authors compare use of singular they to widespread use of singular you instead of thou.

I love this line. If anyone complains about someone using singular ‘they’ I would love to respond by asking how they can use singular ‘you are’, instead of ‘þu art’ Whistle
How did the Victorian grammarians let that one through? Think

Back to top Drag0nspeaker
Posted:
Thursday, April 26, 2018 2:56:53 AM

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Joined: 9/12/2011
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Location: Livingston, Scotland, United Kingdom

Hello Sophia Alexandrova!

I realise that this may sound strange, but in this sentence ‘they’ is not

really

a plural pronoun.

In modern English (mainly the last forty or fifty years, but it has been so for a lot longer than that sometimes) one does not use ‘he/him’ to speak of an unknown person (or person of undetermined gender). One uses «they+plural verb» as a singular form.

masculine …. feminine …… undetermined …… neuter
he ……………….she …………. they ………………..it
him ……………..her …………..them ……………….it
his ………………hers…………..their ……………….its

It is not polite to call a person ‘it’, so if you don’t know whether you mean a boy, girl, man or woman, «they» is the singular pronoun to use. It sometimes sounds odd, especially when a single sentence contains a singular noun and «they».
However, it is shorter and less clumsy than saying «he or she».

«What a lovely baby. How old is it?»

«What a lovely baby. How old are they?»

Most «native speakers» who grew up using this form would not feel it sounded strange — also (particularly in writing, when one has a bit more time to think about wording) native speakers would usually re-phrase the whole sentence.

«Living in a dog-eat-dog environment people have to be assertive if they want to succeed.»
«What a lovely baby. How old?»


EDITED to add:

Hi thar.
Th’art right — we (up in t’North) say it properly.

Back to top Audiendus
Posted:
Thursday, April 26, 2018 7:53:40 AM
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What shall we do about the reflexive/emphatic form?

masculine …. feminine …… undetermined …… neuter
he ……………….she …………. they ………………..it
him ……………..her …………..them ……………….it
his ………………hers…………..their ……………….its
himself………….herself………..themself?………….itself

Note that we say «yourself» despite the fact that «you» was originally a plural form.

Back to top Drag0nspeaker
Posted:
Thursday, April 26, 2018 8:31:31 AM

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Joined: 9/12/2011
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Yes, I suppose so.

It’s singular — «Help yourself.»
Plural — «Help yourselves.»

«A student should help themself.»
«Students should help themselves.»

As long as a person measures their own worth by comparing themself with others, it will be easy to see themself as not up to the task of making any real improvement in their life. Chasing After the American Dream — Thomas D. Kerr — 1996
In each and every generation, a person is obliged to consider themself as though they themself had gone. . . An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew — 1999
‘Suche people ben unnatural that woll not enforce themself for the sustentation of the comon wele and levir suffir themself to be lost with the comon wele thanne dispose themself to perile for the same.’ (I

think

this is from a letter from King Edward the Fifth to Otes Gilbert, Esq. — or possibly a letter from Richard III)
Thus, the social categories to which the adolescent assigns themself may also point the interviewer toward necessary inquiries into these possible problem areas. Comprehensive Clinical Psychology: Assessment — Alan S. Bellack, ‎Michel Hersen — 1998

Back to top Kirill Vorobyov
Posted:
Thursday, April 26, 2018 8:49:58 AM

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Location: Moscow, Moscow, Russia

Whenever your friend is attacked help them.

Back to top Sophia Alexandrova
Posted:
Friday, May 11, 2018 5:44:11 AM

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Joined: 6/12/2016
Posts: 42
Neurons: 16,848
Location: Moscow, Moscow, Russia

Quote:

Short answer — yes, you can use ‘they’ to refer to a singular person, without specifying their gender. It keeps the normal verb forms — they are, etc.

Long answer — some people will tell you it’s wrong, but they don’t understand that the people who taught that were just in a phase of bad teaching. It is normal, standard English. Everybody uses it, and it has always been used.

Some explanation in this thread (and probably some others, but I don’t know about them):

https://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst181052_They-showed-their-passport-s—.aspx

Quote:
Some authors compare use of singular they to widespread use of singular you instead of thou.

I love this line. If anyone complains about someone using singular ‘they’ I would love to respond by asking how they can use singular ‘you are’, instead of ‘þu art’ Whistle
How did the Victorian grammarians let that one through? Think

Thanks a lot Thar. The thing is that one of my teachers keeps on correcting every «they» in my works Eh?

Back to top Sophia Alexandrova
Posted:
Friday, May 11, 2018 5:45:11 AM

Rank: Member

Joined: 6/12/2016
Posts: 42
Neurons: 16,848
Location: Moscow, Moscow, Russia

Drag0nspeaker wrote:

Yes, I suppose so.

It’s singular — «Help yourself.»
Plural — «Help yourselves.»

«A student should help themself.»
«Students should help themselves.»

As long as a person measures their own worth by comparing themself with others, it will be easy to see themself as not up to the task of making any real improvement in their life. Chasing After the American Dream — Thomas D. Kerr — 1996
In each and every generation, a person is obliged to consider themself as though they themself had gone. . . An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew — 1999
‘Suche people ben unnatural that woll not enforce themself for the sustentation of the comon wele and levir suffir themself to be lost with the comon wele thanne dispose themself to perile for the same.’ (I

think

this is from a letter from King Edward the Fifth to Otes Gilbert, Esq. — or possibly a letter from Richard III)
Thus, the social categories to which the adolescent assigns themself may also point the interviewer toward necessary inquiries into these possible problem areas. Comprehensive Clinical Psychology: Assessment — Alan S. Bellack, ‎Michel Hersen — 1998

Thanks a lot!

Back to top thar
Posted:
Friday, May 11, 2018 6:52:49 AM

Rank: Advanced Member

Joined: 7/8/2010
Posts: 28,119
Neurons: 115,230

Sophia Alexandrova wrote:

Thanks a lot Thar. The thing is that one of my teachers keeps on correcting every «they» in my works Eh?

Ah, yes that is a problem. Some people were taught that it is wrong, so of course to them it is.

Depending on your relationship with your teacher you can either:

a) Gather some respectable evidence to convince them, and attempt to change their mind, or at least start a debate based on trustworthy evidence.
(I quoted wikipedia but I suggest you try with something more reliable!)

Or
b) shut up and write their way until you finish your studies and pass your exams! Whistle

But be aware that to native speakers (I can only speak for British English,but I see/hear no difference in versions from other regions such the US, Canada, Australia, NZ) it feels perfectly correct.
But like many points of writing and grammar, once you are working professionally you need to check with the organisation you work for, as to what

they

consider to be correct. Or specialisations such as language related to law and legal documents. The same with the curriculum for any exams you are taking.

See how useful it is? I don’t know the gender of your teacher. I can’t because it has no gendered case ending. Using ‘him’ would be sexist, insulting, and just simply wrong, if they are female.
And the same if I made an assumption they were female, and used ‘she’.

Modern English does not use ‘he’ for an unknown gender, the way some other Western European languages do. And writing both (‘he or she’) or using a slash (‘he/she’, ‘him/her’, ‘his/her’) may work in written documents but is ridiculous in prose writing or spoken language.

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