"They/them" redirects here. For the film, see They/Them (film).
Singular they, along with its inflected or derivative forms, them, their, theirs, and themselves (also themself and theirself), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an indeterminate antecedent, in sentences such as:
"Somebody left their umbrella in the office. Could you please let them know where they can get it?"[1]
"My personal rule is to never trust anyone who says that they had a good time in high school."[2]
"The patient should be told at the outset how much they will be required to pay."[3]
"But a journalist should not be forced to reveal their sources."[3]
This use of singular they had emerged by the 14th century, about a century after the plural they.[4][5][2] 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.[6] Its continued use in modern standard English has become more common and formally accepted with the move toward gender-neutral language.[7][8] Some early-21st-century style guides described it as colloquial and less appropriate in formal writing.[9][10] However, by 2020, most style guides accepted the singular they as a personal pronoun.[11][12][13][14]
In the early 21st century, use of singular they with known individuals emerged for people who do not exclusively identify as male or female, as in, for example, "This is my friend, Jay. I met them at work."[15]They in this context was named Word of the Year for 2015 by the American Dialect Society,[16] and for 2019 by Merriam-Webster.[17][18][19] In 2020, the American Dialect Society also selected it as Word of the Decade for the 2010s.[20]
^Swan 2009, §528.
^ ab"they". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ abHuddleston & Pullum 2002, p. 493.
^Balhorn, Mark (June 2004). "The Rise of Epicene They". Journal of English Linguistics. 32 (2): 79–104. doi:10.1177/0075424204265824. ISSN 0075-4242. S2CID 144747717.
^Loughlin, Ayden (23 May 2021). "Frequency of singular they for gender stereotypes and the influence of the queer community". Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference.
^Wales 1996, p. 125.
^Kamm, Oliver (12 December 2015). "The Pedant: The sheer usefulness of singular 'they' is obvious". The Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
^"Singular "They"". APA Style. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
^Pinker 2014, p. 260.
^Ross & West 2002, p. 180.
^"Singular "They": Teaching a Changing Language". World of Better Learning. Cambridge University Press. 16 November 2020.
^"Singular They Continues to be the Focus of Language Change". ACES: The Society for Editing.
^"How do I use singular they?". 4 March 2020.
^"Resources for using "they" as a singular pronoun" (PDF). www1.ucdenver.edu. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
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