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The part that throws me is verbs. "They want to go for a walk." If we're referring to just one person then it seems it should be "they wants to go for a walk."
by DennisP 7y ago
The part that throws me is verbs. "They want to go for a walk." If we're referring to just one person then it seems it should be "they wants to go for a walk." It sounds horribly wrong but do we really want plural verb forms to also be singular sometimes?
Historically, I guess that's how we've always done it. But now, for people who prefer non-gender-specific pronouns, does it make sense to use plural verb forms when describing their actions, and singular verb forms for everybody else? Won't that get confusing sometimes?
Maybe we should bite the bullet and start treating singular "they" as singular.
- zzo38computer 7y agoNo; singular "they" and singular "you" are both grammatically plural. However, if you are using it as singular it is still "yourself" rather than "yourselves", so, it should also be "themself" rather than "themselves" if it is being used as singular.
- DennisP 7y agoMakes sense. "Themself" doesn't sound bad to me, really.
- perfmode 7y agoDo you wants to go, too?
- DennisP 7y agoHeh good point. Thanks for helping me adjust to modern society.
- function_seven 7y agoWell now I'm wondering why we have the singular version of the verb. "He want to go on a walk" doesn't sound so bad to me. Only slightly jarring, but also an already common construction in some vernaculars.
- progval 7y agoI'm not a linguist, but in English it looks more "why are there only two versions of the verb" than "why we have the singular version of the verb". In French and German (and probably other related languages), verbs have one form per "type" of pronoun. Too a lesser extent, English has that too for some verbs: I am, thou art, he/she is, we are, you are, they are. But the "I" case is often the same as the "he/she" one, and "thou" fell out of use, leaving only two forms.
- yjftsjthsd-h 7y agoI mean. That sounds weird precisely because "you" used to be plural.
- umanwizard 7y agoOthers have already pointed out that you, which used to be exclusively plural, still takes plural verb forms and nobody gets confused. I'll add that this phenomenon is not restricted to English. On, in French, is traditionally a singular indefinite-person pronoun, mostly equivalent to the pronoun "one" in English (which sounds a bit archaic/formal now, so maybe a better translation is "people in general"). It takes singular third person verb conjugations. However, nowadays, on has almost completely replaced nous (meaning "we") as a subject pronoun in informal, colloquial speech. But its conjugation is still third-person singular. "We saw each other" is thus translated in formal speech or writing as "Nous nous sommes vus", and in colloquial speech as "On s'est vu".
- mcphage 7y ago> do we really want plural verb forms to also be singular sometimes? Wait ‘til you learn about scissors and underwear, it’s really going to blow your mind.