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> I thought 'they' is always plural? You see someone two blocks away doing something unusual and say, "what are they doing?"
by coldpie 2y ago
> I thought 'they' is always plural?
You see someone two blocks away doing something unusual and say, "what are they doing?"
- alistairSH 2y agoOnly if you can't determine gender. Otherwise, you'd be "what is she/he doing?" It's usually clear from context. How often do you look two blocks away and see a group of unrelated individuals doing different things to the point "what are they doing" is unclear? Can't say I've ever run into that in my 48 years.
- coldpie 2y ago> Only if you can't determine gender Sure, that's why I said 2 blocks away. The point is "they" is not exclusively used for plural, which was the claim I was replying to.
- jadyoyster 2y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they You might just not notice it.
- alistairSH 2y agoOh, I know singular they is used/exists. I'm only pointing out that there is more precise language available most of the time, should it be needed - either she/he or adding details elsewhere in the conversation.
- ted_bunny 2y agoThey also refers to the abstract "one."