Is it grammatically correct to use they as a singular pronoun? For a long time, I refused to use it as such. My English teachers had taught me to only use it as a plural pronoun. I have since learned that it can also be used as a gender-neutral, singular pronoun. Confusing? Yes, but English is a beautiful, confusing language. Scattered throughout this article are examples of forms of they being used as a singular pronoun in various literary works. Maybe you’ll be familiar with some of these books and authors.
But it was Jonathan, and he was my husband, and we didn’t know anybody who saw us, and we didn’t care if they did, so on we walked. (Bram Stoker, Dracula)
They is gender-neutral and the pronoun of choice when the sex of the antecedent is unknown. Famous writers such as Bram Stoker, Jane Austen, and Lewis Carroll weren’t taught as I was that they couldn’t be used as a singular pronoun; the singular they appeared often in their writings.
According to Merriam-Webster Unabridged, English lacks a common-gender third person singular pronoun that can be used to refer to indefinite pronouns like everyone, anyone, and someone. Writers and speakers have long supplied this lack by using the plural pronouns.
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/they
A person can’t help their birth. (W. M. Thackeray, Vanity Fair)
For a while, the practice of using forms of he as the gender-neutral pronoun was accepted if the sex of the person was undetermined. Some used he even it was obvious that a female was involved. That has led to some hilarious sentences like the one below.
. . . the ideal that every boy and girl should be so equipped that he shall not be handicapped in his struggle for social progress (C. C. Fries, American English Grammar)
Grammarians in the eighteenth century insisted upon the forms of he being used this way. They refused to let they be used as a singular pronoun. Using he or she or he/she sounds and looks awkward, especially when used often.
Apparently, the eighteenth-century grammarians had forgotten you was once a plural pronoun that became singular. If you was plural, then what was singular? Thou and thee were the singular pronouns used until you shoved them out of the way and took their place. Maybe these grammarians did remember that yet chose to ignore the brilliant writers who had used they as a singular pronoun.
‘Whoever lives there,’ thought Alice, ‘it’ll never do to come upon them this size; why, I should frighten them out of their wits!’ (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland)
William and the Werewolf is a medieval romance poem from 1375. I could put the line from it that uses they as a singular pronoun here in Middle English, but I doubt you would understand it. I know I didn’t. But here is the line in the English of today: Each man hurried . . . Till they drew near . . . Where William and his darling were lying together.
Gender-Neutral Pronouns: Singular ‘They’ (Grammar Girl)
The 17th Edition of The Chicago Manual of Style talks about using forms of they as a singular pronoun and how it is now an accepted practice in sections 5.48 and 5.256.
Who makes you their confidant? (Jane Austen, Emma)
Now that you know the singular they has been in use for so long, how do you feel about it? What I learned from my research has changed my mind and convinced me that using the singular they when needed is the best option.
.Prescriptive Poppycock Interlude: Singular they – In this PDF, you will find many more examples of the use of the singular they in literature.
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