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Thank you! I appreciate the correction. Unfortunately, I cannot agree with this either: > "They" is not commonly recognized as singlular. Personally, I’d say

by bradrn 4y ago

Thank you! I appreciate the correction. Unfortunately, I cannot agree with this either: > "They" is not commonly recognized as singlular. Personally, I’d say that ‘they’ can act as both a third person animate singular and a third person gender-neutral plural pronoun, in just the same way that ‘you’ is both a second-person singular and second-personal plural pronoun. True, the singular usage of ‘they’ isn’t quite as common as the plural usage, but as a native English speaker I’ve never seen singular ‘they’ as particularly unusual.

IncRnd 4y ago
I understand. There are people who use the singular they. There are even many people who use the singular they. Nobody disputes that, and I doubt anyone would say with any honesty they misunderstood when they is intended to be singular or plural. Maybe in specific scenarios where the rest of the sentence is poorly written, but not overall. That being said, what I meant by uncommon use is that there are many more people who do not use they as singular compared to those who do. This isn't a value judgement, and languages evolve. The commonly cited OED article is simply a recognition that languages change. I am saying that the singular they is not the common use of the word.
- bradrn 4y ago
  > there are many more people who do not use they as singular compared to those who do I do accept your point here, but I think even this is debatable. Certainly, there is a population which vociferously denies the validity of singular ‘they’… but are they truly a majority? It’s really hard to know. Personally, I found that usage so natural, I don’t recall even noticing it until it was pointed out to me.
  - IncRnd 4y ago
    I agree that there are extremely standard uses of singular "they", when the pluralty is known. "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."[1] That was my first comment's point. The comment to which I replied didn't make obvious who "they" referenced. It could have meant the architect, designer, both, or more. It was, "Amazingly cool that they understood they had to make the statue handle winds in the harbor." [2] I think some people are getting caught up in the mistaken belief that I am being political, when I am talking about writing in understandable sentences. This is on Merriam-Webster's page on the singular they. "In an 1881 letter, Emily Dickinson wrote 'Almost anyone under the circumstances would have doubted if [the letter] were theirs, or indeed if they were themself.' People have used singular 'they' to describe someone whose gender is unknown for a long time, but the nonbinary use of 'they' is relatively new." [3] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31785507#31795771 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31785507#31795771 [3] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbi...

by bradrn 4y ago

IncRnd 4y ago

I understand. There are people who use the singular they. There are even many people who use the singular they. Nobody disputes that, and I doubt anyone would say with any honesty they misunderstood when they is intended to be singular or plural. Maybe in specific scenarios where the rest of the sentence is poorly written, but not overall. That being said, what I meant by uncommon use is that there are many more people who do not use they as singular compared to those who do. This isn't a value judgement, and languages evolve. The commonly cited OED article is simply a recognition that languages change. I am saying that the singular they is not the common use of the word.

bradrn 4y ago
> there are many more people who do not use they as singular compared to those who do I do accept your point here, but I think even this is debatable. Certainly, there is a population which vociferously denies the validity of singular ‘they’… but are they truly a majority? It’s really hard to know. Personally, I found that usage so natural, I don’t recall even noticing it until it was pointed out to me.
- IncRnd 4y ago
  I agree that there are extremely standard uses of singular "they", when the pluralty is known. "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."[1] That was my first comment's point. The comment to which I replied didn't make obvious who "they" referenced. It could have meant the architect, designer, both, or more. It was, "Amazingly cool that they understood they had to make the statue handle winds in the harbor." [2] I think some people are getting caught up in the mistaken belief that I am being political, when I am talking about writing in understandable sentences. This is on Merriam-Webster's page on the singular they. "In an 1881 letter, Emily Dickinson wrote 'Almost anyone under the circumstances would have doubted if [the letter] were theirs, or indeed if they were themself.' People have used singular 'they' to describe someone whose gender is unknown for a long time, but the nonbinary use of 'they' is relatively new." [3] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31785507#31795771 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31785507#31795771 [3] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbi...