When is they singular

Singular they has become the pronoun of choice to replace he and she in cases where the gender of the antecedent — the word the pronoun refers to — is unknown, irrelevant, or nonbinary, or where gender needs to be concealed.

The Oxford English Dictionary traces singular they back to , where it appears in the medieval romance William and the Werewolf. Except for the old-style language of that poem, its use of singular they to refer to an unnamed person seems very modern.

That makes an old form even older. They clearly forgot that singular you was a plural pronoun that had become singular as well. You functioned as a polite singular for centuries, but in the seventeenth century singular you replaced thou, thee, and thy, except for some dialect use.

That change met with some resistance. In , George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, wrote a whole book labeling anyone who used singular you an idiot or a fool.

Anyone who said thou and thee was seen as a fool and an idiot, or a Quaker, or at least hopelessly out of date. Singular you has become normal and unremarkable. He or she cut me off! The newer usage of singular they to describe a known individual who is rejecting the yoke of other pronouns has been inching closer to the mainstream for years.

It's unlikely you'd slam your hand on the wheel and exclaim, "Did you see that? The backlash has come as singular they has become associated with new protocols that progressives have adopted at schools and conference check-in tables around the country. Others balk at using singular they to refer to people like Conrod on the grounds that it is linguistically confusing e.

There is, however, historical precedent that proves this kind of evolution can take place. Centuries ago, the pronoun you was used only in a plural sense: Individuals were referred to as thee or thou. According to a GLSEN study , more than two-thirds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students hear homophobic remarks at school frequently or often. Of these students, For transgender, genderqueer, genderfluid, and other nonbinary students, this can have extreme consequences, from lower GPAs to missed classes to suicide.

So how do you know which one to use? Asking someone their personal gender pronoun is easy. I really enjoyed their painting of a flower in art class yesterday.

Merriam-Webster sums up the situation well in their usage note for they:. They, their, them, themselves: English lacks a common-gender third-person singular pronoun that can be used to refer to indefinite pronouns as everyone, anyone, someone. But, as many have pointed out, gendering all unknown people as male is sexist and inaccurate. A vacation should be enjoyable. You can read the bias-free language guidelines in full on the APA Style website.

These guidelines cover not only how to write about gender but also age , disability , participation in research , racial and ethnic identity , sexual orientation , socioeconomic status , and intersectionality. Gastil, J. Generic pronouns and sexist language: The oxymoronic character of masculine generics. Sex Roles , 23 11—12 , — Moulton, J. American Psychologist , 33 11 , — Subscribe to the new APA Style monthly newsletter to get news, updates, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

Singular "They". Cite this. Lee, C.