3 ms·

English does have a genderless singular pronoun: They Just because a book said it was preferred in 1848 to use he when sex is indeterminate (then went on to us

by gte910h 15y ago

English does have a genderless singular pronoun: They Just because a book said it was preferred in 1848 to use he when sex is indeterminate (then went on to use both singular he and singular they) doesn't mean that's true today. The language always used both. Why stop today? Might feel a bit odd at first if you're not used to it, but it's not a bit different than how singular "you" is used ("You are coming today?" uses the plural form of "be"). The book itself used both forms! Shows you that English teachers may have been overly strict with you in the past. Some more on the topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they

danso 15y ago
Thank you for this. I had always (only slightly, though, in a grammar nazi way) looked down on people who used "they" for a singular pronoun because I thought that many do so just out of carelessness. But glad there is a formalized reasoning for it. I've always used "he/she". But that's not quite accurate (or elegant) either.
drcube 15y ago
"You" started out plural. "Thou" was the singular version. Then "you" started being a form of respect, similar to the royal "we" or the Spanish "usted". Finally, we all became "you"s, sort of how we all became "sirs and madams" and "ladies and gentlemen" when those were originally a select class. Anyway, "They" has been undergoing this process for a few centuries now, and I concur that it's time to embrace it.
- gte910h 15y ago
  >Thackeray's use of both forms demonstrates. "The alternative to the masculine generic with the longest and most distinguished history in English is the third-person plural pronoun. Recognized writers have used they, them, themselves, and their to refer to singular nouns such as one, a person, an individual, and each since the 1300s." I don't really think it's an evolution, as much as the mid1800's tendency to over classify and striate things going away.
FuzzyDunlop 15y ago
It surprises me that this has to be highlighted. I wouldn't genuinely know if it's a difference between British and American English but I've never encountered a British trend of using gender specific pronouns - or the unilateral usage of feminine pronouns in favour of masculine ones - in place of the neutral forms. It is one of those niggles that irks my pedantic self though; particularly the politically correct change to using 'she' instead of 'he' (instead of the perfectly neutral 'they', and even 'one').
- gte910h 15y ago
  Does the singular You bother you? Dost thou pine for Thou?
  - FuzzyDunlop 15y ago
    I'm not sure what relevance that has to my dislike of unnecessarily gender specific pronouns.
    - gte910h 15y ago
      I misunderstood the antecedent to your "this"

by gte910h 15y ago

danso 15y ago

Thank you for this. I had always (only slightly, though, in a grammar nazi way) looked down on people who used "they" for a singular pronoun because I thought that many do so just out of carelessness. But glad there is a formalized reasoning for it. I've always used "he/she". But that's not quite accurate (or elegant) either.

drcube 15y ago

"You" started out plural. "Thou" was the singular version. Then "you" started being a form of respect, similar to the royal "we" or the Spanish "usted". Finally, we all became "you"s, sort of how we all became "sirs and madams" and "ladies and gentlemen" when those were originally a select class. Anyway, "They" has been undergoing this process for a few centuries now, and I concur that it's time to embrace it.

gte910h 15y ago
>Thackeray's use of both forms demonstrates. "The alternative to the masculine generic with the longest and most distinguished history in English is the third-person plural pronoun. Recognized writers have used they, them, themselves, and their to refer to singular nouns such as one, a person, an individual, and each since the 1300s." I don't really think it's an evolution, as much as the mid1800's tendency to over classify and striate things going away.

FuzzyDunlop 15y ago

It surprises me that this has to be highlighted. I wouldn't genuinely know if it's a difference between British and American English but I've never encountered a British trend of using gender specific pronouns - or the unilateral usage of feminine pronouns in favour of masculine ones - in place of the neutral forms. It is one of those niggles that irks my pedantic self though; particularly the politically correct change to using 'she' instead of 'he' (instead of the perfectly neutral 'they', and even 'one').

gte910h 15y ago
Does the singular You bother you? Dost thou pine for Thou?
- FuzzyDunlop 15y ago
  I'm not sure what relevance that has to my dislike of unnecessarily gender specific pronouns.
  - gte910h 15y ago
    I misunderstood the antecedent to your "this"