ضمیر they مفرد

Singular “They”

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is defined as a word or phrase that is used as a substitution for a noun or noun phrase (People, places, or things).

Pronouns are short words and can do everything that nouns can do and are one of the building blocks of a sentence.

Without pronouns we’d constantly have to repeat nouns and that would make our speech and writing repetitive.

For instance if you’re telling a story about your sister Sarah your story will begin to sound repetitive if you keep mentioning “Sarah” over and over again.

So you use a pronoun to avoid repetition: She.

Language teachers instruct us on the basic pronouns In English.

I

YOU

HE (for male)

SHE (for female)

WE

THEY

and IT

These are called Personal Pronouns.

‫But, notice how we just used “they”‬ when we were talking about a whole bunch of people?

‫Grammatically, they is used as a plural pronoun‬, a word that’s used to describe multiple people places, or things.

But, “they” is not only a plural pronoun.‬ This word is also a singular, gender neutral pronoun and it has been for centuries.

When we don’t know (or don’t need to know) the gender of the person we’re talking about “They” really comes in handy.

I love this word!

Let me clarify it with an example:

When a celebrity joins Instagram, he or she gains thousands of followers within minutes.

This sentence doesn’t indicate the gender of the celebrity so whenever referring to this celebrity, ‫we will have to use “he or she” as a pronoun‬.

Imagine saying that every time!

It’s gonna be boring and kinda stupid!

But check this out!

When a celebrity joins Instagram, they gain thousands of followers within minutes.

See?

“They” made it way easier.

But, I know what you’re asking: A singular pronoun but a plural verb?

Sound inconceivable to you?

But you do it every day.

We all do it.

How?

Consider the pronoun “You”.

It can be singular or plural but in both cases it’s followed by a plural verb.

We never say:

You is smart.

It’s always plural.

You are smart.

So it’s the same thing with singular “they”.

Another Example:

Every student wants to do well on his or her midterm.

Every student wants to do well on their midterm.

We don’t need to know the gender of the student.

So instead of repeating “his or her” ‫we just simply use their‬ and it works perfect.

Yep, their.

Note that when we are talking about singular “they” we use other pronouns and the possessive adjective accordingly.

them, themselves, their, theirs

There is one more aspect to this word’s usage.

We use singular they when referring to a non-binary or gender-conforming person.

What is non-binary?

You know Sam Smith, right?

I don’t wanna be alone tonight

It’s pretty clear that I’m not over you

I’m still thinking about the things you do

When I saw the word non-binary gender queer‬ and I read into it

and I heard these people speaking I was like f*uck that is me.

‫Would you explain what that means to you, non-binary‬

Non-binary gender queer is that you do not identify any gender you are just you.

You are a mixture of all different things your own special creation

that’s how I take it. It’s not, I’m not male or female I think I flow somewhere in between.

It’s all on a spectrum.

Sam says I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between.

That means we cannot use the pronouns “He” or “She” for Sam.

So what should we do?

You have to be careful about how you call these people.

You should know what they prefer to be called.

In Sam Smith’s case the singer made it clear with this post on their Instagram:

Today is a good day, so here goes. I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns ‫to THEY/THEM‬

After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am inside and out…

So now we know. When we’re talking about Sam Smith ‫ singular they is the pronoun we’re going to use‬ And don’t worry about the grammar.

Coincidentally, Merriam Webster announced that week that it was adding an entry to the definition of the pronoun “they” ‫to refer to a non-binary individual‬.

So there you go. Dictionary approves it. It’s totally correct.

Keep in mind that while singular “they” widely takes a plural verb,

some individuals who identify as non-binary‬

may individually prefer using a singular verb ‫with singular they‬.

Not all of them, some of them.

They cooks an amazing lasagna.

(If you don’t know someone’s preference, ask!)

Other than this specific case we always use a plural verb after singular “they”.

Okay that’s all you need to know about singular “they”

These grammar lessons are available in Zabanshenas.

The Link to download the app is in the bio right there!

‫Write your sentences using singular they‬ in the comments’ section down below.

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Bye!