View source for Singular they

{{short description|Gender-neutral English pronoun}}
{{Redirect|They/them|the film|They/Them (film){{!}}''They/Them'' (film)}}
{{Italic title|string=they}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
<!--Introduction-->
<!--Definition, inflected forms-->
[[File:My pronoun is THEY - International Design in Government Day at Code for America Summit 2019 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=A pronoun sticker that reads "My pronoun is they"|A sticker indicating the wearer's use of singular they pronouns]]

'''Singular ''they''''', along with its [[inflected]] or derivative forms, '''''them''''', '''''their''''', '''''theirs''''', and '''''themselves''''' (also '''''themself''''' and '''''theirself''' for nonstandard usage''), is a gender-neutral [[third-person pronoun]] derived from plural [[they]]. It typically occurs with an indeterminate [[antecedent (grammar)|antecedent]], to refer to an unknown person, or to refer to every person of some group, in sentences such as:

{{blockindent|"''Somebody'' left ''their'' umbrella in the office. Could you please let ''them'' know where ''they'' can get it?"{{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
{{blockindent|"My personal rule is to never trust ''anyone'' who says that ''they'' had a good time in high school."{{r|"OED"}}}}
{{blockindent|"''The patient'' should be told at the outset how much ''they'' will be required to pay."{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
{{blockindent|"But ''a journalist'' should not be forced to reveal ''their'' sources."{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Everybody'' can make good pastry if ''they'' have the 'know-how'."{{r|"OED"}} }}
<!--Explanation / Acceptability-->
This use of singular ''they'' had emerged by the 14th century, about a century after the plural ''they''.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Mark|last1=Balhorn|title=The Rise of Epicene They|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0075424204265824|journal=Journal of English Linguistics|date=June 2004|issn=0075-4242|pages=79–104|volume=32|issue=2|doi=10.1177/0075424204265824|s2cid=144747717|access-date=1 June 2023|archive-date=17 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417190622/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0075424204265824|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Ayden|last1=Loughlin|title=Frequency of singular they for gender stereotypes and the influence of the queer community|url=https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/lavlang/2021/sunday/3|journal=Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference|date=23 May 2021|access-date=1 June 2023|archive-date=25 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525162450/https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/lavlang/2021/sunday/3/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="OED">{{OED|they|id=200700}}</ref> Singular ''they'' has been criticized since the mid-18th century by [[linguistic prescription|prescriptive commentators]] who consider it an error.{{sfn|Wales|1996|p=125}} Its continued use in modern [[standard English]] has become more common and formally accepted with the move toward [[gender-neutral language]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Kamm|first=Oliver|title=The Pedant: The sheer usefulness of singular 'they' is obvious|access-date=2019-06-19|date=2015-12-12|website=[[The Times]]|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/the-pedant-the-sheer-usefulness-of-singular-they-is-obvious-3qs05ngflkj|archive-date=19 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619175236/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-pedant-the-sheer-usefulness-of-singular-they-is-obvious-3qs05ngflkj|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Singular "They"|url=https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/singular-they|access-date=2022-05-14|website=APA Style|archive-date=5 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305192901/https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/singular-they|url-status=live}}</ref> Some early-21st-century [[style guide]]s described it as [[colloquial]] and less appropriate in formal writing.{{sfn|Pinker|2014|p=260}}{{sfn|Ross|West|2002|p=180}} However, by 2020, most style guides and English-learning websites, such as the [[APA style|APA]], [[AP Stylebook|AP]], [[The Chicago Manual of Style|CMOS]], [[British Council]] etc. accepted the singular ''they'' as a [[personal pronoun]].<ref name="cambridge-2020-11-16">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cambridge.org//elt/blog/2020/11/16/singular-they-teaching-a-changing-language/|title=Singular "They": Teaching a Changing Language|date=16 November 2020|website=World of Better Learning|publisher=Cambridge University Press|access-date=27 December 2020|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125120235/https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/11/16/singular-they-teaching-a-changing-language/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="aces-2020">{{Cite web|url=https://aceseditors.org/news/2020/singular-they-continues-to-be-the-focus-of-language-change|title=Singular They Continues to be the Focus of Language Change|website=ACES: The Society for Editing|access-date=27 December 2020|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101074157/https://aceseditors.org/news/2020/singular-they-continues-to-be-the-focus-of-language-change|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mla-2020">{{Cite web|url=https://style.mla.org/using-singular-they/|title=How do I use singular they?|date=4 March 2020|access-date=27 December 2020|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404204748/http://style.mla.org/using-singular-they|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www1.ucdenver.edu/docs/librariesprovider102/default-document-library/resources-for-using-they-as-a-singlular-pronoun.pdf |title=Resources for using "they" as a singular pronoun |website=www1.ucdenver.edu |access-date=2020-12-27 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125205916/https://www1.ucdenver.edu/docs/librariesprovider102/default-document-library/resources-for-using-they-as-a-singlular-pronoun.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the early 21st century, use of singular ''they'' with known individuals emerged for [[Non-binary gender|non-binary people]], as in, for example, "This is my friend, ''Jay''. I met ''them'' at work."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they |title=Words We're Watching: Singular 'They' |website=Merriam-Webster dictionary |year=2019 |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-date=18 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618001603/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they |url-status=live }}</ref> ''They'' in this context was named ''[[Word of the year|Word of the Year]]'' for 2015 by the [[American Dialect Society]],<ref name="ads-woty">{{Cite web |date=9 January 2016 |title=2015 Word of the Year is singular "they" |url=https://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412082744/https://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they |archive-date=April 12, 2016 |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=American Dialect Society}}</ref> and for 2019 by [[Merriam-Webster]].<ref name="bbc-woty">{{Cite news |date=10 December 2019 |title=Merriam-Webster: Non-binary pronoun 'they' is word of year |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50735371 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211012312/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50735371 |archive-date=11 December 2019 |access-date=10 December 2019 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="ap-woty">{{Cite web |date=10 December 2019 |title=Merriam-Webster declares 'they' its 2019 word of the year |url=https://apnews.com/article/0b88fde3eeb023355fc2be0f8955a0b5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125205856/https://apnews.com/article/0b88fde3eeb023355fc2be0f8955a0b5 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |access-date=27 December 2020 |website=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref name="mw-woty">{{Cite web |title=Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2019 |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2019-they |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206130855/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2019-they |archive-date=December 6, 2020 |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=Merriam-Webster}}</ref> In 2020, the American Dialect Society also selected it as ''Word of the Decade'' for the 2010s.<ref name="dw-wotd">{{Cite web |title=Singular 'they' crowned word of the decade by US linguists &#124; DW &#124; 04.01.2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/singular-they-crowned-word-of-the-decade-by-us-linguists/a-51884397 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104122522/https://www.dw.com/en/singular-they-crowned-word-of-the-decade-by-us-linguists/a-51884397 |archive-date=4 January 2020 |access-date=4 January 2020 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Inflected forms and derivative pronouns==
Like the "singular ''you''", "singular ''they''" permits a singular antecedent, but is used with the same verb forms as plural ''they'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Chicago Style for the Singular ''They'' |date=2017-04-03 |url=https://cmosshoptalk.com/2017/04/03/chicago-style-for-the-singular-they/ |website=cmosshoptalk.com |access-date=14 February 2020 |quote=Like singular you, singular ''they'' is treated as a grammatical plural and takes a plural verb. |archive-date=22 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222164116/http://cmosshoptalk.com/2017/04/03/chicago-style-for-the-singular-they/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kruth |first1=Rebecca |last2=Curzan |first2=Ann |title=TWTS: Singular "they" and verb agreement |url=https://www.michiganradio.org/post/twts-singular-they-and-verb-agreement |website=Michigan Radio |date=16 June 2019 |access-date=13 February 2020 |archive-date=13 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213164558/https://www.michiganradio.org/post/twts-singular-they-and-verb-agreement |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/singular-they |title=Welcome, singular "they" |website=American Psychological Association |access-date=2020-03-01 |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209234714/https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/singular-they |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Singular Nonbinary 'They': Is it 'they are' or 'they is'?  |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they-is-or-they-are |website=Merriam Webster |access-date=22 May 2023 |quote=...the most natural-sounding verb is the one to use. 'They' always goes with a plural verb... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112203414/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they-is-or-they-are |archive-date=November 12, 2020}}</ref> and has the same inflected forms as plural ''they'' (i.e. ''them'', ''their'', and ''theirs''),{{sfn|Pullum|2012}} except that in the reflexive form, ''themself'' is sometimes used instead of ''themselves''.<ref name="websters-2019-09">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/themself|title=Themself|website=merriam-webster.com|access-date=27 December 2020|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111225310/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/Themself|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Inflected forms of third-person personal pronouns
|-
! Pronoun
! Subjective<br />([[nominative]])
! Objective<br />([[accusative]])
! {{nowrap|[[Possessive adjective|Prenominal possessive]]}}<br />(dependent genitive)
! {{nowrap|[[Possessive pronoun|Predicative possessive]]}}<br />(independent genitive)
! [[Reflexive pronoun|Reflexive]]
|-
! scope="row" | [[He (pronoun)|He]]
| {{em|He}} is my son.
| When my son cries, I hug {{em|him}}.
| My son tells me {{em|his}} age.
| If I lose my phone, my son lends me {{em|his}}.
| My son dresses {{em|himself}}.
|-
! scope="row" | [[She (pronoun)|She]]
| {{em|She}} is my daughter.
| When my daughter cries, I hug {{em|her}}.
| My daughter tells me {{em|her}} age.
| If I lose my phone, my daughter lends me {{em|hers}}.
| My daughter dresses {{em|herself}}.
|-
! scope="row" | Plural ''[[they]]''
| {{em|They}} are my children.
| When my children cry, I hug {{em|them}}.
| My children tell me {{em|their}} ages.
| If I lose my phone, my children lend me {{em|theirs}}.
| My children dress {{em|themselves}}.
|-
! scope="row" | {{nowrap|Singular ''they''}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/nonbinary-they-is-in-the-dictionary | title=A Note on the Nonbinary 'They' | access-date=12 January 2023 | archive-date=12 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112202727/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/nonbinary-they-is-in-the-dictionary | url-status=live }}</ref>
| {{em|They}} are my child.
| When my child cries, I hug {{em|them}}.
| My child tells me {{em|their}} age.
| If I lose my phone, my child lends me {{em|theirs}}.
| My child dresses {{em|themself}} [or {{em|themselves}}].
|-
! scope="row" | [[Generic he|Generic ''he'']]
| {{em|He}} is my child.
| When my child cries, I hug {{em|him}}.
| My child tells me {{em|his}} age.
| If I lose my phone, my child lends me {{em|his}}.
| My child dresses {{em|himself}}.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Neutral gender|''It'']]
| {{em|It}} is my child.
| When my child cries, I hug {{em|it}}.
| My child tells me {{em|its}} age.
| If I lose my phone, my child lends me {{em|its}}.
| My child dresses {{em|itself}}.
|}

''Themself'' is attested from the 14th to 16th centuries. Its use has been increasing since the 1970s{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002 |p=494}}{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=731}} or 1980s,{{sfn|Fowler|Burchfield |1996|p=777}} though it is sometimes still classified as "a minority form".{{sfn|Fowler|2015|pp=811–812}} In 2002, Payne and [[Rodney Huddleston|Huddleston]],<!--Chapter 5 is by those two --> in ''[[The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language]]'', called its use in standard dialect "rare and acceptable only to a minority of speakers" but "likely to increase with the growing acceptance of ''they'' as a singular pronoun".{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002 |p=494}} It is useful when referring to a single person of indeterminate gender, where the plural form ''themselves'' might seem incongruous, as in:

{{blockquote|"It is not an actor pretending to be Reagan or Thatcher, it is, in grotesque form, the person themself."|author=[[Ian Hislop]] (1984){{sfn|Hislop|1984 |p=23}}|source=Fowler's{{sfn|Fowler|Burchfield |1996|p=776, themself}}}}

===Regional preferences===
The Canadian government recommends ''themselves'' as the reflexive form of singular ''they'' for use in Canadian federal legislative texts and advises against using ''themself''.{{sfn|Canadian government |2015}}

=== Obsolete/Offensive pronouns and criticism ===
From most style guides, the "[[generic he]]" has been criticised for suggesting that [[male]] is the default for humans, excluding [[female]]s and [[non-binary]] people, is considered inaccurate and potentially [[Sexism|sexist]]. "He or she" has been criticised for being clunky and unnatural, also excluding non-binary individuals. "It" is not suitable for people, it is generally considered [[Dehumanization|dehumanising]] and objectifying, previously used as a slur against [[LGBTQ people|LGBTQ+]] people.

==Usage==
{{Further|Gender neutrality in languages with gendered third-person pronouns}}
''They'' with a singular antecedent goes back to the [[Middle English]] of the 14th century{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|pp=493–494}}{{sfn|American Heritage Dictionaries|1996|p=178}} (slightly younger than ''they'' with a plural antecedent, which was borrowed from [[Old Norse]] in the 13th century),<ref>{{cite American Heritage Dictionary|they}}</ref> and has remained in use for centuries in spite of its proscription by traditional grammarians beginning in the mid-18th century.{{sfn|Fowler|2015|p=814}}{{sfn|Bodine|1975|pp= 129–146}}

Informal spoken English exhibits universal use of the singular ''they''. An examination by Jürgen Gerner of the [[British National Corpus]] published in 1998 found that British speakers, regardless of social status, age, sex, or region, used the singular ''they'' more often than the gender-neutral ''he'' or other options in the context of being anaphors after indefinite pronouns like "everybody" and "anybody".{{sfn|Gerner|2000|pp=111–112}}

===Prescription of generic ''he''===
''He'' has been used with antecedents of indeterminate gender since the [[Old English]] period,<ref>{{Cite OED|he|1054698830}}</ref> as in the following:

{{blockquote|"If ''any one'' did not know it, it was ''his'' own fault."|author=[[George Washington Cable]]|source=''Old Creole Days'' (1879);{{sfn|Cable|1879}} quoted by Baskervill & Sewell.{{sfn|Baskervill|Sewell|1895 |loc=§409}}}}
{{blockquote|"''Every person'' who turns this page has ''his'' own little diary."|author=[[William Makepeace Thackeray|W. M. Thackeray]]|source=''On Lett's Diary'' (1869);{{sfn|Thackeray|1869|p=189}} Baskervill & Sewell, ''An English Grammar''.{{sfn|Baskervill|Sewell|1895 |loc=§410}}}}

The earliest known explicit recommendation by a grammarian to use the generic ''he'' rather than ''they'' in formal English is [[Ann Fisher (grammarian)|Ann Fisher]]'s mid-18th century ''A New Grammar'' assertion that "The ''Masculine Person'' answers to the ''general Name'', which comprehends both ''Male'' and ''Female''; as, ''any Person who knows what he says.''" (Ann Fisher{{sfn|Fisher|1750|p=106 in 1780 printing}} as quoted by Ostade{{sfn|Ostade|2000}})

Nineteenth-century grammarians insisted on ''he'' as a gender-neutral pronoun on the grounds of [[agreement (linguistics)|number agreement]], while rejecting "he or she" as clumsy,{{sfn|Bodine|1975|p=133}} and this was widely adopted: e.g. in 1850, the British Parliament passed an act which provided that, when used in acts of Parliament "words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include females".{{sfn|Miller|Swift|1995|p=46}}{{sfn|Warenda|1993|p=101}} Baskervill and Sewell mention the common use of the singular ''they'' in their ''An English Grammar for the Use of High School, Academy and College Class'' of 1895, but prefer the generic ''he'' on the basis of number agreement.

Baskervill gives a number of examples of recognized authors using the singular ''they'', including:

{{blockquote|"''Every one'' must judge according to ''their'' own feelings."|author=[[Lord Byron]]|source=''Werner'' (1823),{{sfn|Byron|1823|p=vi}} quoted as "''Every one'' must judge of [sic] ''their'' own feelings."{{sfn|Baskervill|Sewell|1895|loc=§411}}}}
{{blockquote|"Had the Doctor been contented to take my dining tables as ''any body'' in ''their'' senses would have done&nbsp;..."|author=[[Jane Austen]]|source=''[[Mansfield Park]]'' (1814);{{sfn|Austen|1814|p=195}}{{sfn|Baskervill|Sewell|1895|loc=§411}}}}

It has been argued that the real motivation for promoting the "generic" ''he'' was an androcentric world view, with the default sex of humans being male&nbsp;– and the default gender therefore being masculine.{{sfn|Bodine|1975 |p= 133}} There is some evidence for this: Wilson wrote in 1560:

{{blockquote|"...&nbsp;let us keepe a naturall order, and set the man before the woman for manners sake."|author=Wilson|source=''The arte of Rhetorique'' (1560);{{sfn|Wilson|1560|p=167}}}}
{{blockquote|"...&nbsp;the worthier is preferred and set before. As a man is set before a woman&nbsp;..."|author=Wilson|source=''The arte of Rhetorique'' (1560);{{sfn|Wilson|1560|p=208}}}}
And Poole wrote in 1646:
{{blockquote|"The Masculine gender is more worthy than the Feminine."|author=Poole|source=''The English Accidence'' (1646);{{sfn|Poole|1646|p=21}} cited by Bodine{{sfn|Bodine|1975|p=134}}}}

In spite of continuous attempts on the part of educationalists to proscribe singular ''they'' in favour of ''he'', this advice was ignored; even writers of the period continued to use ''they'' (though the proscription may have been observed more by American writers).{{sfn|Leonard|1929|p=225}}{{sfn|Bodine|1975|p=131}} Use of the purportedly gender-neutral ''he'' remained acceptable until at least the 1960s,{{sfn|Fowler|Burchfield|1996|p=358}} though some uses of ''he'' were later criticized as being awkward or silly, for instance when referring to:{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=735}}
* Indeterminate persons of both sexes:
{{blockquote|"The ideal that ''every boy and girl'' should be so equipped that ''he'' shall not be handicapped in ''his'' struggle for social progress&nbsp;..."|author=[[C. C. Fries]]|source=''American English Grammar'', (1940).{{sfn|Fries|1969|p=215}}}}
* Known persons of both sexes:
{{blockquote|"She and Louis had a game&nbsp;– who could find the ugliest photograph of himself."|author=[[Joseph P. Lash]]|source=''[[Eleanor and Franklin (book)|Eleanor and Franklin]]'' (1971){{sfn|Lash|1981|p=454}}}}

===Contemporary use of ''he'' to refer to a generic or indefinite antecedent===
{{See also|Generic he}}
<!--Try to exclude translations, texts from international organizations and texts that are likely to have been written by non-natives (because of the likelihood of interference from gendered languages). Also avoid legal texts influenced by laws on the use of ''he''. -->
<!-- post-1980 -->
''He'' is still sometimes found in contemporary writing when referring to a generic or indeterminate antecedent. In some cases, it is clear from the situation that the persons potentially referred to are likely to be male, as in:

{{blockquote|"The patient should be informed of his therapeutic options."|source=A text about [[prostate cancer]] (2004){{sfn|Weiss|Kaplan|Fair|2004|p=147}}}}

In some cases the antecedent may refer to persons who are only ''probably'' male or to occupations traditionally thought of as male:
{{blockquote|"It wouldn't be as if ''the lone astronaut'' would be completely by ''himself''." (2008){{sfn|Atkinson|2008}}}}
{{blockquote|"Kitchen table issues&nbsp;... are ones ''the next president'' can actually do something about if ''he'' actually cares about it. More likely if she cares about it!"|author=[[Hillary Clinton]] (2008){{sfn|Spillius|2008}}}}

In other situations, the antecedent may refer to an indeterminate person of either sex:
{{blockquote|"Now, a writer is entitled to have a Roget on ''his'' desk."|author=Barzun (1985)|source={{sfn|Barzun|1985}} quoted in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=734}}}}
{{blockquote|"A Member of Parliament should always live in ''his'' constituency."{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=492}}}}
In 2010, Choy and Clark still recommend the use of generic ''he'' "in formal speech or writing":{{sfn|Choy|Clark|2010|p=213}}

{{blockquote|"...&nbsp;when indefinite pronouns are used as antecedents, they require ''singular'' subject, object, and possessive pronouns&nbsp;..."<br>
"''Everyone'' did as ''he'' pleased"|author=Choy|source=Basic Grammar and Usage}}

In informal spoken English, plural pronouns are often used with indefinite pronoun antecedents. However, this construction is generally not considered appropriate in formal speech or writing.

{{blockquote|Informal: ''Somebody'' should let you borrow ''their'' book.{{br}}
Formal: ''Somebody'' should let you borrow ''his'' book.|author=Choy|source=Basic Grammar and Usage{{sfn|Choy|Clark|2010|p=213}}}}

In 2015, ''[[A Dictionary of Modern English Usage|Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'' calls this "the now outmoded use of ''he'' to mean 'anyone{{'"}},{{sfn|Fowler|2015|p=367}} stating:{{sfn|Fowler|2015|p=372}}
{{Blockquote|text=From the earliest times until about the 1960s it was unquestionably acceptable to use the pronoun ''he'' (and ''him'', ''himself'', ''his'') with indefinite reference to denote a person of either sex, especially after indefinite pronouns and determiners such as ''anybody'', &nbsp;... ''every'', etc., after gender-neutral nouns such as ''person''&nbsp;... [but] alternative devices are now usually resorted to. When a gender-neutral pronoun or determiner&nbsp;... is needed, the options usually adopted are the plural forms ''they'', ''their'', ''themselves'', etc., or ''he or she'' (''his or her'', etc.)}}

In 2016, [[Garner's Modern English Usage|''Garner's Modern English Usage'']] calls the generic use of masculine pronouns "the traditional view, now widely assailed as sexist".{{sfn|Garner|2016|p=460}}

===Rise of gender-neutral language===
The earliest known attempt to create a new gender-neutral pronoun in English dates back to 1792, when Scottish economist [[James Anderson of Hermiston]] advocated for an indeterminate pronoun ''ou''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Barron|first=Dennis|title=The Words that Failed: A chronology of early nonbinary pronouns|url=http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/epicene.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208165811/http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/epicene.htm|archive-date=2019-02-08|access-date=25 October 2016|work=Illinois Department of English|publisher=University of Illinois}}</ref>

In 1808, poet [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] suggested ''it'' and ''which'' as neutral pronouns for the word ''person'':<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160623-the-ultimate-21st-century-word|title=The ultimate 21st-Century word?|last=Macdonald|first=Fiona|date=2016-06-23|work=BBC News|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=2016-10-26|archive-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027063923/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160623-the-ultimate-21st-century-word|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Coleridge|1895|p=[https://archive.org/details/animapoetfromu00coleuoft/page/190 190]}}

In the second half of the 20th century, people expressed more widespread concern at the use of male-oriented language.{{sfn|Miller |Swift|1995|pp=1–9}} This included criticism of the use of ''man'' as a generic term to include men and women and of the use of ''he'' to refer to any human, regardless of sex (social gender).{{sfn|Miller |Swift |1995|pp=11–61}}

It was argued that ''he'' could not sensibly be used as a generic pronoun understood to include men and women. [[William Safire]] in his ''[[On Language]]'' column in ''[[The New York Times]]'' approved of the use of generic ''he'', mentioning the mnemonic phrase "the male embraces the female".{{sfn|Safire|1985|pp=46–47}} C. Badendyck from Brooklyn wrote to ''The New York Times'' in a reply:{{sfn|Badendyck|1985}}

{{Blockquote|text=The average American needs the small routines of getting ready for work. As he shaves or blow-dries his hair or pulls on his panty-hose, he is easing himself by small stages into the demands of the day.}}

By 1980, the movement toward [[gender-neutral language]] had gained wide support, and many organizations, including most publishers, had issued guidelines on the use of gender-neutral language,{{sfn|Miller|Swift|1995|pp=1–9}} but stopped short of recommending ''they'' to be third-person singular with a non-indeterminate, singular antecedent.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

===Contemporary usage===
The use of masculine generic nouns and pronouns in written and spoken language has decreased since the 1970s.{{sfn|Pauwels|2003|pp=563–564}}
In a corpus of spontaneous speech collected in Australia in the 1990s, singular ''they'' had become the most frequently used generic pronoun (rather than generic ''he'' or ''he or she'').{{sfn|Pauwels|2003|pp=563–564}} Similarly, a study from 2002 looking at a corpus of American and British newspapers showed a preference for ''they'' to be used as a singular epicene pronoun.<ref name="Baranowski Current Usage of They">{{cite journal |last=Baranowski |first=Maciej |title=Current usage of the epicene pronoun in written English |journal=Journal of Sociolinguistics |date=2002 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=378–397 |doi=10.1111/1467-9481.00193}}</ref>

The increased use of singular ''they'' may owe in part to an increasing desire for gender-neutral language. A solution in formal writing has often been to write "''he or she"'', or something similar, but this is often considered awkward or overly [[political correctness|politically correct]], particularly when used excessively.{{sfn|Matossian|1997}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Balhorn |first=Mark |title=The epicene pronoun in contemporary newspaper prose |journal=American Speech |date=2009 |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=391–413 |doi=10.1215/00031283-2009-031}}</ref> In 2016, the journal ''[[American Speech]]'' published a study by Darren K. LaScotte investigating the pronouns used by native English speakers in informal written responses to questions concerning a subject of unspecified gender, finding that 68% of study participants chose singular ''they'' to refer to such an antecedent. Some participants noted that they found constructions such as "he or she" inadequate as they do not include people who [[Non-binary|identify as neither male nor female]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=LaScotte |first=Darren K. |date=1 February 2016 |title=Singular they: An Empirical Study of Generic Pronoun Use |journal=American Speech |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=62–80 |doi=10.1215/00031283-3509469 |issn=0003-1283}}</ref>

====Use with a pronoun antecedent====
The singular antecedent can be a pronoun such as ''someone'', ''anybody'', or ''everybody'', or an interrogative pronoun such as ''who'':
* With ''somebody'' or ''someone'':
{{blockquote|"I feel that if ''someone'' is not doing ''their'' job it should be called to ''their'' attention."|source=an American newspaper (1984); quoted by Fowler.{{sfn|Fowler|Burchfield |1996|p=776}}}}
* With ''anybody'' or ''anyone'':
{{blockquote|"If ''anyone'' tells you that America's best days are behind her, then ''they''{{'}}re looking the wrong way." President [[George H. W. Bush]], [[1991 State of the Union Address]];{{sfn|Bush|1991|p=101}} quoted by Garner{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
{{blockquote|"''Anyone'' can set ''themselves'' up as an acupuncturist."|author=Sarah Lonsdale|source="Sharp Practice Pricks Reputation of Acupuncture". ''[[The Observer]]'' 15 December 1991, as cited by Garner{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
{{blockquote|"If ''anybody'' calls, take ''their'' name and ask ''them'' to call again later." Example given by Swan{{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
<!--
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* even where the gender is known or assumed:
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{{blockindent|"It will be illegal for ''anyone'' to donate an organ to ''their'' wife, husband, adopted child, adopted parent or close friend."<!--Removed this for the same reason as the sub-heading{{efn|At the time, the gender was known or assumed because same-sex marriage [[same-sex marriage#Legal recognition|had not yet been legalized]] in any country.}}--><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ballantyne |first1=Aileen |title=Transplant Jury to Vet Live Donors |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0F92980622D0429E&f=basic |url-access=registration |access-date=2022-01-02 |work=The Sunday Times |date=1990-03-25 |archive-date=15 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915172909/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F92980622D0429E%26f%3Dbasic |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|Article accessible for free using a library card number from many public libraries}}}}
* With ''nobody'' or ''no one'':
{{blockquote|"''No one'' put ''their'' hand up." Example given by [[Rodney Huddleston|Huddleston]] et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=1458}}}}
{{blockquote|"''No one'' felt ''they'' had been misled." Example given by [[Rodney Huddleston|Huddleston]] et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
* With an interrogative pronoun as antecedent:
{{blockquote|"''Who'' thinks ''they'' can solve the problem?". Example given by [[Rodney Huddleston|Huddleston]] et al.; ''[[The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language]]''.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=1473}}}}
* With ''everybody'', ''everyone'', etc.:
{{blockquote|"''Everyone'' promised to behave ''themselves''." Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}

=====Notional plurality or pairwise relationships=====
Although the pronouns ''everybody'', ''everyone'', ''nobody'', and ''no one'' are singular in form and are used with a singular verb, these pronouns have an "implied plurality" that is somewhat similar to the implied plurality of collective or group nouns such as ''crowd'' or ''team'',{{efn|Especially in British English, such collective nouns can be followed by a ''plural verb and a plural pronoun''; in American English such collective nouns are more usually followed by a ''singular verb and a singular pronoun''.{{sfn|Fowler|2015|p=161}}}} and in some sentences where the antecedent is one of these "implied plural" pronouns, the word ''they'' cannot be replaced by generic ''he'',{{sfn|Kolln|1986|pp=100–102}} suggesting a "notional plural" rather than a "bound variable" interpretation {{See below|{{section link||Grammatical and logical analysis}}, below}}. This is in contrast to sentences that involve multiple pairwise relationships and singular ''they'', such as:
{{blockindent|"''Everyone'' loves ''their'' mother."{{sfn|Duží |Jespersen |Materna|2010 |p=334}}}}
{{blockindent|{{"'}}I never did get into that football thing', she said after ''everyone'' returned to ''their'' seat."{{sfn|Davids|2010}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Everyone'' doubts ''themselves''/''themself'' at one time or another."}}

There are examples where the antecedent pronoun (such as ''everyone'') may refer to a collective, with no necessary implication of pairwise relationships. These are examples of plural ''they'':
{{blockindent|"At first ''everyone'' in the room was singing; then ''they'' began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.{{sfn|Kolln|1986|pp=100–102}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and ''they'' tried to. But I already knew ''they'' were there." Example given by Garner.{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=643}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Nobody'' was late, were ''they''?" Example given by Swan.{{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
Which are apparent because they do not work with a generic ''he'' or ''he or she'':
{{blockindent|"At first ''everyone'' in the room was singing; then ''he or she'' began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.{{sfn|Kolln|1986|pp=100–102}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and ''he'' tried to. But I already knew ''he'' was there."}}
{{blockindent|"''Nobody'' was late, was ''he''?"}}
In addition, for these "notional plural" cases, it would not be appropriate to use ''themself'' instead of ''themselves'' as in:
{{blockindent|"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, but ''they'' instead surprised ''themself''."}}

====Use with a generic noun as antecedent====
The singular antecedent can also be a noun such as ''person'', ''patient'', or ''student'':
* With a noun (e.g. person, student, patient) used generically (e.g. in the sense of any member of that class or a specific member unknown to the speaker or writer)
{{blockquote|"cognitive dissonance: "a concept in psychology [that] describes the condition in which ''a person's'' attitudes conflict with ''their'' behaviour".|source=''Macmillan Dictionary of Business and Management'' (1988), as cited by Garner.{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
{{blockquote|"A starting point would be to give more support to ''the company secretary''. ''They'' are, or should be, privy to the confidential deliberations and secrets of the board and the company.|author=Ronald Severn|source="Protecting the Secretary Bird". ''Financial Times'', 6 January 1992; quoted by Garner.{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
* With representatives of a class previously referred to in the singular
{{blockindent|"I had to decide: Is ''this person'' being irrational or is he right? Of course, ''they'' were often right."|author=Robert Burchfield|source=''U.S. News & World Report'' 11 August 1986, as cited in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=734}}}}
Even when referring to a class of persons of known sex, ''they'' is sometimes used:{{sfn|Newman|1998}}
{{blockindent|"I swear more when I'm talking to ''a boy'', because I'm not afraid of shocking ''them''". From an interview.{{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
{{blockindent|"''No mother'' should be forced to testify against ''their'' child".}}
''They'' may also be used with antecedents of mixed genders:
{{blockindent|"Let me know if ''your father or your mother'' changes ''their'' mind." Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
{{blockindent|"Either ''the husband or the wife'' has perjured ''themself''." Here ''themself'' might be acceptable to some, ''themselves'' seems less acceptable, and ''himself'' is unacceptable. Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
Even for a definite known person of known sex, ''they'' may be used in order to ignore or conceal the sex.
{{blockindent|"I had ''a friend'' in Paris, and ''they'' had to go to hospital for a month." (definite person, not identified){{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
The word ''themself'' is also sometimes used when the antecedent is known or believed to be a single person.
{{blockindent|"''Someone'' has apparently locked ''themself'' in the office."[acceptability questionable]{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}

====Use for specific, known people, including non-binary people====
Known individuals may be referred to as ''they'' if the individual's gender is unknown to the speaker.{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}{{sfn|Teich|2012|p=12}}

A known individual may also be referred to as ''they'' if the individual is [[Non-binary|non-binary or genderqueer]] and considers ''they'' and derivatives as appropriate pronouns.{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}{{sfn|Teich|2012|p=12}} Several [[social media]] applications permit account holders to choose to identify their gender using one of a variety of non-binary or genderqueer options,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/02/21/gender_facebook_now_has_56_categories_to_choose_from_including_cisgender.html |title=Confused by All the New Facebook Genders? Here's What They Mean |last=Weber |first=Peter |date=21 February 2014 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |issn=1091-2339 |access-date=2016-05-14 |archive-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507153634/http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/02/21/gender_facebook_now_has_56_categories_to_choose_from_including_cisgender.html |url-status=live }}</ref> such as ''non-binary'', ''[[Gender fluidity|genderfluid]]'', ''[[agender]]'', or ''[[bigender]]'', and to designate pronouns, including ''they''/''them'', which they wish to be used when referring to them.{{sfn|CNN|2014}} Explicitly designating one's pronouns as ''they''/''them'' increases the chance that people will interpret "they" as singular.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Arnold|first1=Jennifer E.|last2=Mayo|first2=Heather|last3=Dong|first3=Lisa|title=My pronouns are they/them: Talking about pronouns changes how pronouns are understood|journal=Psychonomic Bulletin and Review|date=2021|volume=28|issue=5|pages=1688–1697|doi=10.3758/s13423-021-01905-0|pmid=33945124|pmc=8094985|url=https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-01905-0|access-date=17 June 2021|archive-date=13 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105918/https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-021-01905-0|url-status=live}}</ref> Though "singular ''they''" has long been used with antecedents such as ''everybody'' or generic persons of unknown gender, this use, which may be chosen by an individual, is recent.{{sfn|Abadi |2016}} The earliest recorded usage of this sense documented by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' is in a [[Tweet (social media)|tweet]] from 2009;<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |dictionary=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |title=they |url=https://oed.com/view/Entry/200700#eid1288185480 |access-date=16 June 2021 |edition=Online |date=June 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608131137/https://oed.com/view/Entry/200700#eid1288185480 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |user=thebutchcaucus |number=2584598369 |date=11 July 2009 |title=RT @pieskiis: @FireboltX What about they/them/theirs? #genderqueer #pronouns |access-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010090725/https://twitter.com/thebutchcaucus/status/2584598369 |archive-date=10 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> the journal ''[[American Speech]]'' documents an example from 2008 in an article in the journal ''[[Women's Studies Quarterly]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zimmer|first1=Ben|last2=Solomon|first2=Jane|last3=Carson|first3=Charles E.|title=Among the New Words|journal=American Speech|volume=91|issue=2|date=2016|pages=200–225|doi=10.1215/00031283-3633118|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/american-speech/article/91/2/200/6145/Among-the-New-Words|access-date=16 June 2021|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717084548/https://read.dukeupress.edu/american-speech/article/91/2/200/6145/Among-the-New-Words|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> As of 2020, singular ''they'' is the most popular pronoun set used by non-binary people. Approximately 80% consider it appropriate for themselves.<ref name="gendercensus2020">{{cite web |title=Gender Census 2020: Worldwide Report |url=https://gendercensus.com/results/2020-worldwide/ |website=Gender Census |access-date=10 November 2020 |date=7 November 2020 |archive-date=10 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110230452/https://gendercensus.com/results/2020-worldwide/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hekanaho2020">{{cite thesis |last=Hekanaho |first=Laura |date=8 December 2020 |title=Generic and Nonbinary Pronouns: Usage, Acceptability and Attitudes |type=PhD |publisher=University of Helsinki |isbn=9789515168313 |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/321581/hekanaho_laura_dissertation_2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=7 March 2021 |page=221 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307171934/https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/321581/hekanaho_laura_dissertation_2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live }}</ref>

The singular ''they'' in the meaning "gender-neutral singular pronoun for a known person, as a non-binary identifier"{{sfn|Steinmetz|2016}} was chosen by the [[American Dialect Society]] as their "Word of the Year" for 2015.{{sfn|Abadi|2016}}<ref name="ads-woty" /> In 2016, the American Dialect Society wrote:

{{Blockquote|text="While editors have increasingly moved to accepting singular they when used in a generic fashion, voters in the Word of the Year proceedings singled out its newer usage as an identifier for someone who may identify as non-binary in gender terms."{{sfn|American Dialect Society|2016}}}}
The vote followed the previous year's approval of this use by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' style guide, when [[Bill Walsh (author)|Bill Walsh]], the ''Post''{{'}}s copy editor, said that the singular ''they'' is "the only sensible solution to English's lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun".{{sfn|Guo|2016}}

In 2019, the non-binary ''they'' was added to [[Merriam-Webster]]'s dictionary<ref name="MW">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they|title=they|website=Merriam-Webster|access-date=19 September 2019|archive-date=29 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629021839/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NBC">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/merriam-webster-adds-nonbinary-they-pronoun-dictionary-n1055976 |title=Merriam-Webster adds nonbinary 'they' pronoun to dictionary |website=NBC News |date=18 September 2019 |access-date=2019-09-19 |archive-date=19 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919071632/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/merriam-webster-adds-nonbinary-they-pronoun-dictionary-n1055976 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CNN">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/us/merriam-webster-nonbinary-pronoun-they-trnd/index.html |title=Merriam-Webster adds the nonbinary pronoun 'they' to its dictionary |first=Kendall |last=Trammell |date=2019-09-18 |website=CNN |access-date=2019-09-19 |archive-date=19 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919134142/https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/us/merriam-webster-nonbinary-pronoun-they-trnd/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and was named as that year's ''Word of the Year''.<ref name="bbc-woty" /><ref name="ap-woty" /><ref name="mw-woty" /> On January 4, 2020, the American Dialect Society announced they had crowned ''they'', again in this context, Word of the Decade for the 2010s.<ref name="dw-wotd" />

The first non-binary main character on North American television appeared on the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] drama series [[Billions (TV series)|''Billions'']] in 2017, with [[Asia Kate Dillon]] playing Taylor Mason.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hibberd |first=James |title='Billions' Premiere Introduces TV's First Gender Non-Binary Character |url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/02/19/billions-non-binary-asia-kate-dillon/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=September 17, 2017 |date=February 19, 2017 |archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428141725/https://ew.com/tv/2017/02/19/billions-non-binary-asia-kate-dillon/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Masters |first=Jeffrey |title=Asia Kate Dillon Talks Discovering the Word Non-Binary: 'I Cried' |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/asia-kate-dillon-talks-discovering-the-word-non-binary_us_58ef1685e4b0156697224c7a |work=[[Huffington Post]] |access-date=September 17, 2017 |date=April 13, 2017 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205012120/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/asia-kate-dillon-talks-discovering-the-word-non-binary_us_58ef1685e4b0156697224c7a |url-status=live }}</ref> Both actor and character use singular ''they''.

==Acceptability and prescriptive guidance==
<!--This section is intended mainly for prescriptive advice on style rather than information on actual usage or grammar. Care should be taken to avoid excessive duplication -->
Though both generic ''he'' and generic ''they'' have long histories of use, and both are still used, both are also systematically avoided by particular groups.{{sfn|Chicago|2017|loc=§5.252}}

[[Style guide]]s that avoid expressing a preference for either approach sometimes recommend recasting a problem sentence, for instance replacing generic expressions with plurals to avoid the criticisms of either party.

Sources differ about whether singular ''they'' is more accepted in British or American English, with ''[[Garner's Modern English Usage]]'' stating British English{{sfn|Garner|2016|p=822}} and ''[[A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language]]'' stating American English.{{sfn|Quirk|Greenbaum|Leech|Svartvik|1985|p=770}}

===Usage guidance in American style guides===
====''Garner's Modern American Usage''====
''[[Garner's Modern American Usage]]'' (4th ed., 2016) recommends cautious use of singular ''they'', and avoidance where possible because its use is stigmatized.
{{blockquote|"Where noun–pronoun disagreement can be avoided, avoid it. Where it can't be avoided, resort to it cautiously because some people may doubt your literacy".{{sfn|Garner|2016|p=195}}}}
Garner suggests that use of singular ''they'' is more acceptable in British English:
{{blockquote|"Speakers of {{abbr|AmE|American English}} resist this development more than speakers of {{abbr|BrE|British English}}, in which the indeterminate ''they'' is already more or less standard."{{sfn|Garner|2016|p=822}}}}
and apparently regrets the resistance by the American language community:
{{blockquote|"That it sets many literate Americans' teeth on edge is an unfortunate obstacle to what promises to be the ultimate solution to the problem."{{sfn|Garner|2016|p=822}}}}
He regards the trend toward using singular ''they'' with antecedents like ''everybody'', ''anyone'' and ''somebody'' as inevitable:
{{blockquote|"Disturbing though these developments may be to purists, they're irreversible. And nothing that a grammarian says will change them."{{sfn|Garner|2016|pp=736}}}}
Garner also notes that "resistance to the singular ''they'' is fast receding" in all national varieties of English.{{sfn|Garner|2016|pp=196}}

====''The Chicago Manual of Style''====
In the 14th edition (1993) of ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', the [[University of Chicago Press]] explicitly recommended using singular ''they'' and ''their'', noting a "revival" of this usage and citing "its venerable use by such writers as Addison, Austen, Chesterfield, Fielding, Ruskin, Scott, and Shakespeare."{{sfn|Chicago|1993|pp=76–77}}
From the 15th edition (2003), this was changed. In Chapter 5 of the 17th edition (2017), now written by [[Bryan A. Garner]], the recommendations were:{{sfn|Chicago|2017|loc=§5.48}}

{{Blockquote|text=Normally, a singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun. But because ''he'' is no longer universally accepted as a generic pronoun referring to a person of unspecified gender, people commonly (in speech and in informal writing) substitute the third-person-plural pronouns ''they'', ''them'', ''their'', and ''themselves'' (or the nonstandard singular ''themself''). While this usage is accepted in those spheres, it is only lately showing signs of gaining acceptance in formal writing, where Chicago recommends avoiding its use. When referring specifically to a person who does not identify with a gender-specific pronoun, however, ''they'' and its forms are often preferred.}}

However, this was revised in the 18th edition (2024):{{sfn|Chicago|2024|loc=§5.51}}

{{Blockquote|text=Traditionally, a singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun. But even before the movement away from ''he'', ''him'', ''his'', and ''himself'' as generic pronouns referring to a person of unspecified gender, people had long substituted the third-person-plural pronouns ''they'', ''them'', ''their'', and ''themselves'' (or possibly ''themself'') as generic singular forms—especially in speech and informal prose {somebody forgot '''their''' coat}. In recent years this usage has become accepted in more formal contexts, and Chicago now endorses it.
}}

====''Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association''====
The 7th edition of the [[American Psychological Association]]'s ''[[Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association|Publication Manual]]'', released in October 2019, advises using singular "they" when gender is unknown or irrelevant, and gives the following example:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_changes_7th_edition.html |title=Changes in the 7th Edition |website=Purdue Online Writing Lab |access-date=19 January 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031100822/https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_changes_7th_edition.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=For instance, rather than writing "I don't know who wrote this note, but he or she has good handwriting," you might write something like "I don't know who wrote this note, but they have good handwriting."}}

APA style also endorses using {{pronoun pair|they|them|nolink=yes}} if it is someone's (for example, a non-binary person's) preferred pronoun set.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2015/11/the-use-of-singular-they-in-apa-style.html |title=The Use of Singular "They" in APA Style |author=Chelsea Lee |access-date=21 March 2019 |archive-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321062735/https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2015/11/the-use-of-singular-they-in-apa-style.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Strunk & White's ''The Elements of Style''====
[[William Strunk Jr.]] & [[E. B. White]], the original authors of ''[[The Elements of Style]]'', found use of ''they'' with a singular antecedent unacceptable and advised use of the singular pronoun (''he''). In the 3rd edition (1979), the recommendation was still:{{sfn|Strunk|White|1979|p=60}}

{{Blockquote|text='''They.''' Not to be used when the antecedent is a distributive expression, such as ''each'', ''each one''. ''everybody'', ''every one'', ''many a man''. Use the singular pronoun.&nbsp;... A similar fault is the use of the plural pronoun with the antecedent ''anybody'', ''anyone'', ''somebody'', ''someone''&nbsp;....}}

The assessment, in 1979, was that:{{sfn|Strunk|White|1979|p=60}}

{{Blockquote|text=The use of ''he'' as pronoun for nouns embracing both genders is a simple, practical convention rooted in the beginnings of the English language. ''He'' has lost all suggestion of maleness in these circumstances.&nbsp;... It has no pejorative connotation; it is never incorrect.}}

In the 4th edition (2000), use of singular ''they'' was still proscribed against, but use of generic ''he'' was no longer recommended.{{sfn|Strunk|White|2000 |p=60}}

====Joseph M. Williams's ''The Basics of Clarity and Grace'' (2009)====
[[Joseph M. Williams]], who wrote a number of books on writing with "[[Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace|clarity and grace]]", discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions when faced with the problem of referring to an antecedent such as ''someone'', ''everyone'', ''no one'' or a noun that does not indicate gender and suggests that this will continue to be a problem for some time. He "suspect[s] that eventually we will accept the plural ''they'' as a correct singular" but states that currently "formal usage requires a singular pronoun".{{sfn|Williams|2008 |pp=23–25}}

====''Purdue Online Writing Lab''====
The ''[[Purdue Online Writing Lab]]'' (''OWL'') states that "grammar shifts and changes over time", that the use of singular ''they'' is acceptable,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/pronouns/gendered_pronouns_and_singular_they.html |title=Gendered Pronouns & Singular "They" |website=Purdue Writing Lab |access-date=2019-02-19 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220003136/https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/pronouns/gendered_pronouns_and_singular_they.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and that singular "they" as a replacement for "he" or "she" is more inclusive:

{{Blockquote|text=When individuals whose gender is neither male nor female (e.g. nonbinary, agender, genderfluid, etc.) use the singular they to refer to themselves, they are using the language to express their identities. Adopting this language is one way writers can be inclusive of a range of people and identities.|sign=|source=Purdue Writing Lab}}

====''The Washington Post''====
''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'s}} stylebook, as of 2015<!--Don't {{as of}}-template this; it's not a factoid to update, it's a reference to a specific, consulted edition of a source.-->, recommends trying to "write around the problem, perhaps by changing singulars to plurals, before using the singular they as a last resort" and specifically permits use of ''they'' for a "gender-nonconforming person".{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}

====''Associated Press Stylebook''====
The ''[[Associated Press Stylebook]]'', as of 2017<!--Don't {{as of}}-template this; it's not a factoid to update, it's a reference to a specific, consulted edition of a source.-->, recommends: "''they''<span style="padding-left:0.05em;padding-right:0.025em">/</span>''them''<span style="padding-left:0.05em;padding-right:0.025em">/</span>''their'' is acceptable in limited cases as a singular and-or gender-neutral pronoun, when alternative wording is overly awkward or clumsy. However, rewording usually is possible and always is preferable."<ref>{{cite web |last=Easton |first=Lauren |title=Making a case for a singular 'they' |url=https://blog.ap.org/products-and-services/making-a-case-for-a-singular-they |work=AP Definitive Source |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=5 April 2017 |ref=AP Stylebook |date=24 March 2017 |archive-date=6 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406030421/https://blog.ap.org/products-and-services/making-a-case-for-a-singular-they |url-status=live }}</ref>

====''The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing''====
In ''[[The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing]]'', [[Casey Miller]] and [[Kate Swift]] accept or recommend singular uses of ''they'' in cases where there is an element of semantic plurality expressed by a word such as "everyone" or where an indeterminate ''person'' is referred to, citing examples of such usage in formal speech.{{sfn|Miller|Swift|1995|p=50}} They also suggest rewriting sentences to use a plural ''they'', eliminating pronouns, or recasting sentences to use "one" or (for babies) "it".{{sfn|Miller|Swift|1995|pp=57–58}}

===Usage guidance in British style guides===
<!--''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (1926) -->
In the first edition of ''[[A Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'' (published in 1926) use of the generic ''he'' is recommended.{{sfn|Fowler|Crystal |1926|p=392}} It is stated that singular ''they'' is disapproved of by grammarians. Numerous examples of its use by eminent writers in the past are given, but it is stated that "few good modern writers would flout [grammarians] so conspicuously as Fielding and Thackeray", whose sentences are described as having an "old-fashioned sound".{{sfn|Fowler|Crystal |1926|p=648}}

<!--''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (1965) -->
The second edition, ''[[A Dictionary of Modern English Usage|Fowler's Modern English Usage]]'' (edited by Sir [[Ernest Gowers]] and published in 1965) continues to recommend use of the generic ''he''; use of the singular ''they'' is called "the popular solution", which "sets the literary man's teeth on edge".{{sfn|Fowler|Crystal |1926|p=404}} It is stated that singular ''they'' is still disapproved of by grammarians but common in colloquial speech.{{sfn|Fowler|Gowers |1965|p=635}}

<!--''The New Fowler's Modern English Usage'' (1996) -->
According to the third edition, ''The New Fowler's Modern English Usage'' (edited by [[Robert Burchfield]] and published in 1996) singular ''they'' has not only been widely used by good writers for centuries, but is now generally accepted, except by some conservative grammarians, including the Fowler of 1926, who, it is argued, ignored the evidence:

{{blockquote|Over the centuries, writers of standing have used ''they'', ''their'', and ''them'' with anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun, and the practice has continued in the 20C. to the point that, traditional grammarians aside, such constructions are hardly noticed any more or are not widely felt to lie in a prohibited zone. Fowler (1926) disliked the practice&nbsp;... and gave a number of unattributed "faulty' examples&nbsp;... The evidence presented in the ''OED'' points in another direction altogether.{{sfn|Fowler|Burchfield |1996|p=779}}}}

<!--''The Complete Plain Words'' (1973) -->
''[[The Complete Plain Words]]'' was originally written in 1948 by Ernest Gowers, a civil servant, in an attempt by the British civil service to improve "official English". A second edition, edited by Sir Bruce Fraser, was published in 1973. It refers to ''they'' or ''them'' as the "equivalent of a singular pronoun of common sex" as "common in speech and not unknown in serious writing " but "stigmatized by grammarians as usage grammatically indefensible. The book's advice for "official writers" (civil servants) is to avoid its use and not to be tempted by its "greater convenience", though "necessity may eventually force it into the category of accepted idiom".{{sfn|Gowers|Fraser |1973|p=140}}

<!--'' Plain Words'' (2014) -->
A new edition of ''[[Plain Words]]'', revised and updated by Gowers's great-granddaughter, Rebecca Gowers, was published in 2014.
It notes that singular ''they'' and ''them'' have become much more widespread since Gowers' original comments, but still finds it "safer" to treat a sentence like 'The reader may toss their book aside' as incorrect "in formal English", while rejecting even more strongly sentences like
{{blockindent|"There must be opportunity for the individual boy or girl to go as far as his keenness and ability will take him."{{sfn|Gowers|Gowers |2014|pp=210–213}}}}

<!--''The Times Style and Usage Guide'' (2003)-->
''The Times Style and Usage Guide'' (first published in 2003 by ''[[The Times]]'' of London) recommends avoiding sentences like
{{blockindent|"If someone loves animals, they should protect them."}}
by using a plural construction:
{{blockindent|"If people love animals, they should protect them."}}

<!--''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage'' (2004)-->
''[[The Cambridge Guide to English Usage]]'' (2004, [[Cambridge University Press]]) finds singular ''they'' "unremarkable":
{{blockquote|For those listening or reading, it has become unremarkable&nbsp;– an element of common usage.{{sfn|Peters|2004|p=538}}}}

It expresses several preferences.
* "Generic/universal ''their'' provides a gender-free pronoun, avoiding the exclusive ''his'' and the clumsy ''his/her''. It avoids gratuitous sexism and gives the statement broadest reference&nbsp;... ''They'', ''them'', ''their'' are now freely used in agreement with singular indefinite pronouns and determiners, those with universal implications such as any(one), every(one), no(one), as well as each and some(one), whose reference is often more individual&nbsp;..."{{sfn|Peters|2004|p=538}}

<!--''The Economist Style Guide'' (10th ed. 2012) -->
''[[The Economist]] Style Guide'' refers to the use of ''they'' in sentences like
{{blockindent|"We can't afford to squander anyone's talents, whatever colour their skin is."}}
as "scrambled syntax that people adopt because they cannot bring themselves to use a singular pronoun".{{sfn|Economist|2010|p=117}}

<!--''New Hart's Rules'' (2012)-->
''[[New Hart's Rules]]'' ([[Oxford University Press]], 2012) is aimed at those engaged in copy editing, and the emphasis is on the formal elements of presentation including punctuation and typeface, rather than on linguistic style, although&nbsp;– like ''The Chicago Manual of Style''&nbsp;– it makes occasional forays into matters of usage. It advises against use of the purportedly gender-neutral ''he'', and suggests cautious use of ''they'' where ''he or she'' presents problems.
{{blockquote|...&nbsp;it is now regarded&nbsp;... as old-fashioned or sexist to use ''he'' in reference to a person of unspecified sex, as in ''every child needs to know that he is loved.'' The alternative ''he or she'' is often preferred, and in formal contexts probably the best solution, but can become tiresome or long-winded when used frequently. Use of ''they'' in this sense (''everyone needs to feel that they matter'') is becoming generally accepted both in speech and in writing, especially where it occurs after an indefinite pronoun such as ''everyone'' or ''someone'', but should not be imposed by an editor if an author has used ''he or she'' consistently.{{sfn|New Hart's Rules|2012|p=27}}}}

<!--NIV Bible-->
The 2011 edition of the ''[[New International Version]] [[Bible]]'' uses singular ''they'' instead of the traditional ''he'' when translating pronouns that apply to both genders in the original Greek or Hebrew. This decision was based on research by a commission that studied modern English usage and determined that singular ''they'' (''them''/''their'') was by far the most common way that English-language speakers and writers today refer back to singular antecedents such as ''whoever'', ''anyone'', ''somebody'', ''a person'', ''no one'', and the like."{{sfn|Washington Post|2011}}

The British edition of ''[[The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing]]'', modified in some respects from the original US edition to conform to differences in culture and vocabulary, preserved the same recommendations, allowing singular ''they'' with semantically plural terms like "everyone" and indeterminate ones like "person", but recommending a rewrite to avoid.{{sfn|Miller|Swift|1995|pp=57–58}}

===Australian usage guidance===
The Australian ''Federation Press Style Guide for Use in Preparation of Book Manuscripts'' recommends "gender-neutral language should be used", stating that use of ''they'' and ''their'' as singular pronouns is acceptable.{{sfn|Federation Press|2014}}

===Usage guidance in English grammars===
<!--''Cambridge Grammar of the English Language'' (2002)-->
''[[The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language]]'' discusses the prescriptivist argument that ''they'' is a plural pronoun and that the use of ''they'' with a singular "antecedent" therefore violates the rule of agreement between antecedent and pronoun, but takes the view that ''they'', though ''primarily'' plural, can also be singular in a secondary ''extended'' sense, comparable to the purportedly extended sense of ''he'' to include female gender.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=494}}

Use of singular ''they'' is stated to be "particularly common", even "stylistically neutral" with antecedents such as ''everyone'', ''someone'', and ''no one'', but more restricted when referring to common nouns as antecedents, as in
{{blockindent|"''The patient'' should be told at the outset how much ''they'' will be required to pay."{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
{{blockindent|"''A friend of mine'' has asked me to go over and help ''them''&nbsp;..."{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=494}}}}

Use of the pronoun ''themself'' is described as being "rare" and "acceptable only to a minority of speakers", while use of the morphologically plural ''themselves'' is considered problematic when referring to ''someone'' rather than ''everyone'' (since only the latter implies a plural set).{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=494}}

There are also issues of grammatical acceptability when reflexive pronouns refer to singular noun phrases joined by ''or'', the following all being problematic:
{{blockindent|"Either the husband or the wife has perjured ''himself''." [ungrammatical]}}
{{blockindent|"Either the husband or the wife has perjured ''themselves''." [of questionable grammaticality]}}
{{blockindent|"Either the husband or the wife has perjured ''themself''." [typically used by only some speakers of Standard English].{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=494}}}}

<!--''A Student's Introduction to English Grammar'' (2005) -->
On the motivation for using singular ''they'', ''A Student's Introduction to English Grammar'' states:{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2005|p=104}}

{{blockquote|text=this avoidance of ''he'' can't be dismissed just as a matter of political correctness. The real problem with using ''he'' is that it unquestionably colours the interpretation, sometimes inappropriately&nbsp;... ''he'' doesn't have a genuinely sex-neutral sense.}}

The alternative ''he or she'' can be "far too cumbersome", as in:
{{blockindent|"''Everyone'' agreed that he or she would bring his or her lunch with ''him or her''.}}
or even "flatly ungrammatical", as in
{{blockindent|"''Everyone's'' here, isn't ''he or she''?{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2005|p=104}}}}

"Among younger speakers", use of singular ''they'' even with definite noun-phrase antecedents finds increasing acceptance, "sidestepping any presumption about the sex of the person referred to", as in:

{{blockindent|"You should ask ''your partner'' what ''they'' think."}}
{{blockquote|"''The person'' I was with said ''they'' hated the film." Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2005|p=104}}}}

===Older style guides (not newly published after 2000)===
<!--''A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language'' (1985)-->
According to ''[[A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language]]'' (1985):{{sfn|Quirk|Greenbaum|Leech|Svartvik|1985|p=770}}

{{blockquote|text=The pronoun ''they'' is commonly used as a 3rd person singular pronoun that is neutral between masculine and feminine&nbsp;... At one time restricted to informal usage. it is now increasingly accepted in formal usage, especially in [American English].}}

====''The Little, Brown Handbook'' (1992)====
According to ''The Little, Brown Handbook'', most experts&nbsp;– and some teachers and employers&nbsp;– find use of singular ''they'' unacceptable:
{{Blockquote|text=Although some experts accept ''they'', ''them'', and ''their'' with singular indefinite words, most do not, and many teachers and employers regard the plural as incorrect. To be safe, work for agreement between singular indefinite words and the pronouns that refer to them&nbsp;....}}

It recommends using ''he or she'' or avoiding the problem by rewriting the sentence to use a plural or omit the pronoun.{{sfn|Fowler|Aaron|1992|p=354}}

====The American Heritage Book of English Usage (1996)====
According to ''The American Heritage Book of English Usage'' and its usage panel of selected writers, journalism professors, linguists, and other experts, many Americans avoid use of ''they'' to refer to a singular antecedent out of respect for a "traditional" grammatical rule, despite use of singular ''they'' by modern writers of note and mainstream publications:{{sfn|American Heritage Dictionaries|1996|pp=178–179}}

{{Blockquote|text=Most of the Usage Panel rejects the use of ''they'' with singular antecedents as ungrammatical, even in informal speech. Eighty-two percent find the sentence ''The typical student in the program takes about six years to complete their course work'' unacceptable&nbsp;... panel members seem to make a distinction between singular nouns, such as ''the typical student'' and ''a person'', and pronouns that are grammatically singular but semantically plural, such as ''anyone'', ''everyone'' and ''no one''. Sixty-four percent of panel members accept the sentence ''No one is willing to work for those wages anymore, are they?''}}

==Grammatical and logical analysis==

===Notional agreement===
''Notional agreement'' is the idea that some uses of ''they'' might refer to a grammatically singular antecedent seen as semantically plural:
{{blockquote|{{"'}}Tis meet that some more audience than ''a mother'', since nature makes ''them'' partial, should o'erhear the speech."|author=Shakespeare|source=''[[Hamlet]]'' (1599);{{sfn|Shakespeare|1599|p=105}} quoted in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''.{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=735}}}}
{{blockquote|"''No man'' goes to battle to be killed."&nbsp;... "But ''they'' do get killed."|author=[[George Bernard Shaw]]|source=quoted in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=735}}}}

According to ''notional agreement'', in the Shakespeare quotation ''a mother'' is syntactically singular, but stands for all mothers;{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=735}} and in the Shaw quotation ''no man'' is syntactically singular (taking the singular form ''goes''), but is semantically plural (''all'' go [to kill] not to be killed), hence idiomatically requiring ''they''.{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=736}} Such use, which goes back a long way, includes examples where the sex is known, as in the above examples.{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|pp=735–736}}

===Distribution===
Distributive constructions apply a ''single'' idea to ''multiple'' members of a group.
They are typically marked in English by words like ''each'', ''every'' and ''any''. The simplest examples are applied to groups of two, and use words like ''either'' and ''or''&nbsp;– "Would you like tea or coffee?". Since distributive constructions apply an idea relevant to each individual in the group, rather than to the group as a whole, they are most often conceived of as singular, and a singular pronoun is used:

{{blockquote|"[[England expects that every man will do his duty]]."|author=[[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]] (1805) |source=referring to a fleet crewed by male sailors)}}
{{blockquote|"Every dog hath his day."|author=[[John Ray]]|source=''A Collection of English Proverbs'' (1670), originally from [[Plutarch]], ''Moralia'', c. 95 AD, regarding the death of [[Euripides]].}}

However, many languages, including English, show ambivalence in this regard. Because distribution also requires a group with more than one member, plural forms are sometimes used.{{efn|"Either the plural or the singular may be acceptable for a true bound pronoun&nbsp;...": "''Every student'' thinks ''she'' / ''they'' is / are smart."{{sfn|Huang|2009|p=144}}}}{{example needed|date=December 2018}}

===Referential and non-referential anaphors===
The singular ''they'', which uses the same verb form that plurals do, is typically used to refer to an indeterminate antecedent, for example:

{{blockindent|"The ''person'' you mentioned, are ''they'' coming?"}}

In some sentences, typically those including words like ''every'' or ''any'', the morphologically singular antecedent does not refer to a single entity but is "[[anaphoric reference|anaphorically]] linked" to the associated pronoun to indicate a set of pairwise relationships, as in the sentence:{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|pp=1457–1458}}

{{blockindent|"''Everyone'' returned to ''their'' seats." (where each person is associated with one seat)}}

Linguists like [[Steven Pinker]] and [[Rodney Huddleston]] explain sentences like this (and others) in terms of [[Bound variable pronoun|bound variables]], a term borrowed from [[logic]]. Pinker prefers the terms ''quantifier'' and ''bound variable'' to ''antecedent'' and ''pronoun''.{{sfn|Pinker|1995|p=378}} He suggests that pronouns used as "variables" in this way are more appropriately regarded as [[homonym]]s of the equivalent referential pronouns.{{sfn|Pinker|1995|p=379}}

The following shows different types of anaphoric reference, using various pronouns, including ''they'':
* Coreferential, with a definite antecedent (the antecedent and the anaphoric pronoun both refer to the same real-world entity):
{{blockindent|"Your ''wife'' phoned but ''she'' didn't leave a message."}}
* Coreferential with an indefinite antecedent:
{{blockindent|"One of your ''girlfriends'' phoned, but ''she'' didn't leave a message."}}
{{blockindent|"One of your ''boyfriends'' phoned, but ''he'' didn't leave a message."}}
{{blockindent|"One of your ''friends'' phoned, but ''they'' didn't leave a message."}}
* Reference to a hypothetical, indefinite entity
{{blockindent|"If you had an unemployed ''daughter'', what would you think if ''she'' wanted to accept work as a mercenary?"}}
{{blockindent|"If you had an unemployed ''child'', what would you think if ''they'' wanted to accept work as a mercenary?"}}
* A bound variable pronoun is anaphorically linked to a quantifier (no single real-world or hypothetical entity is referenced; examples and explanations from Huddleston and Pullum, ''The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language''{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=1458}}):
{{blockindent|"''No one'' put ''their'' hand up." [approximately: "There is no person ''x'' such that ''x'' put ''x''{{'}}s hand up."]}}
{{blockindent|"''Every car'' had ''its'' windscreen broken." [approximately: "For every car ''x'', ''x'' had ''x''{{'}}s windscreen broken."]}}

==Cognitive efficiency==
A study of whether "singular ''they''" is more "difficult" to understand than gendered pronouns found that "singular ''they'' is a cognitively efficient substitute for generic ''he'' or ''she'', particularly when the antecedent is nonreferential" (e.g. ''anybody'', ''a nurse'', or ''a truck driver'') rather than referring to a specific person (e.g. ''a runner I knew'' or ''my nurse''). Clauses with singular ''they'' were read "just as quickly as clauses containing a gendered pronoun that matched the stereotype of the antecedent" (e.g. ''she'' for a nurse and ''he'' for a truck driver) and "much more quickly than clauses containing a gendered pronoun that went against the gender stereotype of the antecedent".{{sfn|Foertsch|Gernsbacher|1997}}

On the other hand, when the pronoun ''they'' was used to refer to known individuals ("referential antecedents, for which the gender was presumably known", e.g. ''my nurse'', ''that truck driver'', ''a runner I knew''), reading was slowed when compared with use of a gendered pronoun consistent with the "stereotypic gender" (e.g. ''he'' for a specific truck driver).{{sfn|Foertsch|Gernsbacher|1997}}

The study concluded that "the increased use of singular ''they'' is not problematic for the majority of readers".{{sfn|Foertsch|Gernsbacher|1997}}

A 2024 study by Arnold, Venkatesh, and Vig stated that two-thirds of people used an incorrect pronoun at least once in speaking about someone who used singular ''they'', versus never when speaking about someone who used ''he'' or ''she'', suggesting that singular ''they'' caused some difficulty, but the rate of errors was low (9%). They wrote that whereas people may repeat a name to avoid using the pronoun ''they'' in writing, in speech people used singular ''they'' at least as frequently as binary pronouns, "suggesting that any difficulty does not result in pronoun avoidance" in speech.{{sfn|Arnold|Venkatesh|Vig|2024}}

==Comparison with other pronouns==
The singular and plural use of ''they'' can be compared with the pronoun ''you'', which had been both a plural and [[T–V distinction|polite singular]], but by the 18th century replaced ''thou'' for singular referents.{{sfn|Peters|2004|p=538}} For "you", the singular [[reflexive pronoun]] ("[[wikt:yourself|yourself]]") is different from its plural reflexive pronoun ("[[wikt:yourselves|yourselves]]"); with "they" one can hear either "[[wikt:themself|themself]]" or "[[wikt:themselves|themselves]]" for the singular reflexive pronoun.

Singular "they" has also been compared to [[nosism]] (such as the "[[royal we]]"), when a single person uses first-person plural in place of first-person singular pronouns.{{sfn|Collins|Postal|2012|p={{page needed|date=November 2020}}}} Similar to singular "you", its singular reflexive pronoun ("[[wikt:ourself|ourself]]") is different from the plural reflexive pronoun ("[[wikt:ourselves|ourselves]]").

While the pronoun set derived from ''it'' is primarily used for inanimate objects, ''it'' is frequently used in an impersonal context when someone's identity is unknown or established on a provisional basis, e.g. "Who is ''it''?" or "With this new haircut, no one knows ''it'' is me."<ref>{{Cite web|title=It is I vs. It is me|url=https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/it-is-i-vs-its-me/|access-date=2022-04-22|website=Thesaurus.com|date=23 March 2021|archive-date=24 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324012451/https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/it-is-i-vs-its-me/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''It'' is also used for infants of unspecified gender but may be considered dehumanizing and is therefore more likely in a clinical context. Otherwise, in more personal contexts, the use of ''it'' to refer to a person might indicate antipathy or other negative emotions.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|pp=488–489}}

''It'' can also be used for non-human animals of unspecified sex, though ''they'' is common for pets and other domesticated animals of unspecified sex, especially when referred to by a proper name{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum |2002 |pp=488–489}} (e.g. ''Rags'', ''Snuggles''). Normally, birds and mammals with a known sex are referred to by their respective male or female pronoun (''he'' and ''she''; ''him'' and ''her'').

== Use of singular ''they'' in question tags ==
For [[question tags]] (like ''isn't it'', ''aren't they'') is used to turn a statement into a question to ask for confirmation, seek agreement, or request more information, which is very common is general speech or informal writing. For indefinite pronouns for people like ''somebody'', ''everyone'', ''nobody'', we use ''they'' in the question tag. Even though the verb in the main clause (''is'') is singular, the verb in the question tag must be plural (''are'') to agree with the pronoun ''they'' even in the singular form. Here are some examples:
{{blockindent|"Everybody's unique, aren't they?"}}
{{blockindent|"No-one is perfect, are they?"}}
==See also==
* [[English personal pronouns]]
* [[Gender neutrality in English]]
* [[Notional agreement]]
* [[Spivak pronoun]]
* {{section link|Third-person pronoun|Historical, regional, and proposed gender-neutral singular pronouns}}
* [[Neopronoun]]
* [[Gender neutrality in languages with gendered third-person pronouns]]
* [[Rolling pronouns]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
'''Sources of original examples'''
<!-- i.e. other than authorities for actual examples when given -->
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Nancy |title=A One Way One Person Mission to Mars |date=4 March 2008 |url=https://www.universetoday.com/13037/a-one-way-one-person-mission-to-mars/ |access-date=17 January 2014 |archive-date=9 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209042701/http://www.universetoday.com/13037/a-one-way-one-person-mission-to-mars/ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|Austen|1814}} |title=Mansfield Park |last=Austen |first=Jane |author-link=Jane Austen |url=https://archive.org/details/mansfieldpark08austgoog |date=1833 |publisher=Richard Bentley }}
* {{cite journal |journal=The Liberal Magazine |publisher=Liberal Publication Department (Great Britain) |last=Bagehot |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Bagehot |volume=22 |title=Speech in Portsmouth, 10 November 1910 |year=1910 |publication-date=1915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Yo4AQAAMAAJ |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105917/https://books.google.com/books?id=0Yo4AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last1= Barzun |first1= Jacques |date=1985 |title=Simple and Direct |publisher=Harper and Row}}
* {{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|Bush|1991}} |title = A Study of Presidential State of the Union Addresses: The Sells and Arguments that are Used |last1= Cuellar |first1= Jessica |date=2008|others=Oklahoma State University |isbn=978-0-549-99288-2 }}
* {{cite book |title=Werner, a Tragedy |last=Byron |first=Baron George Gordon |author-link=Lord Byron |date=1823 |publisher=A. and W. Galignani |url=https://archive.org/details/werneratragedy00byrogoog |via=Internet Archive }}
* {{cite book |ref= {{SfnRef|Cable|1879}} |title= Old Creole Days |last1= Cable |first1= George Washington |author-link1= George Washington Cable |url= http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10234 |date= 1907 |orig-year= 1879 |access-date= 9 March 2014 |archive-date= 2 July 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140702092741/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10234 |url-status= live }}
* {{cite web |ref= {{SfnRef|Canadian government |2013}} |url= https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/W-3.pdf |title= Canadian War Veterans Allowance Act (1985) as amended 12 December 2013 |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 12 December 2013 |publisher= [[Government of Canada]] |id= R.S.C., 1985, c. W-3 |access-date= 19 April 2014 |archive-date= 19 April 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140419182639/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/W-3.pdf |url-status= live }}
* {{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Canadian government |2014}} |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/SOR-2002-227.pdf |title=Immigration and RefugeeProtection Regulations (2002) as amended 6 February 2014 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=6 February 2014 |publisher=[[Government of Canada]] |id=SOR/2002-227 |access-date=19 April 2014 |archive-date=19 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419182919/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/SOR-2002-227.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |ref= {{SfnRef|Canadian government|2015}} |url= http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/legis-redact/legistics/p1p30.html |title= Themself or Themselves? |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 7 January 2015 |publisher= [[Government of Canada]] |access-date= 26 April 2016 |quote= Use ''themselves'' as the reflexive/intensive pronoun to refer to an indefinite gender-neutral noun or pronoun that is the subject of the sentence and avoid ''themself''. |archive-date= 1 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160601014554/http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/legis-redact/legistics/p1p30.html |url-status= dead }}
* {{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Caxton|1489}}|title=The right plesaunt and goodly historie of the foure sonnes of Aymon|date=1884|last1=Caxton|first1=William|editor1-last=Richardson|editor1-first=Octavia|publisher=[[Early English Text Society]]|url=https://archive.org/details/rightplesauntno4400caxtuoft|pages=38f|access-date=11 January 2014|orig-year=c.&nbsp;1489}}
* {{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|Chaucer|1395}} |chapter=The Pardoner's Prologue |title=The Riverside Chaucer |last=Chaucer |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Chaucer |editor1-last=Benson |editor1-first=Larry Dean |isbn=978-0-199-55209-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E4DXD7Sk7WcC |orig-year=1395 |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105917/https://books.google.com/books?id=E4DXD7Sk7WcC |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |chapter= Letters to his Son, CCCLV, dated 27 April 27, 1759 |title= The Works of Lord Chesterfield |last= Chesterfield |first= Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of |author-link= Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=g-k_AAAAYAAJ |date= 1759 |publisher= Harper |publication-date= 1845 |access-date= 6 January 2017 |archive-date= 13 December 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105917/https://books.google.com/books?id=g-k_AAAAYAAJ |url-status= live }}
* {{cite book|last=Coleridge|first=Samuel|editor-last=Coleridge|editor-first=Ernest|date=1895|title=Anima Poetæ: From the Unpublished Note-books of Samuel Taylor Coleridge|location=London, England|publisher=William Heinemann|url=https://archive.org/details/animapoetfromu00coleuoft}}
* {{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Chris |last2=Postal |first2=Paul Martin |year=2012 |title=Imposters: A Study of Pronominal Agreement |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0262016889}}
* {{cite book|title= Prodigal Daughter |last= Davids |date=2010|publisher= Steeple Hill |isbn=978-1-426-88577-8}}
* {{cite book |title= The Family Instructor |last1= Defoe |first1= Daniel |author-link= Daniel Defoe |url= https://archive.org/details/familyinstructo00defogoog |date= 1816 |publisher= Brightly and Childs }}
* {{cite book |first1=Joseph P. |last1=Fries |date=1969 |orig-year=1940 |editor1-last=Bolton |editor1-first=W. F. |editor2-last=Crystal |chapter=The inflections and syntax of present-day American English with especial reference to social differences or class dialects: The report of an investigation financed by the National Council of Teachers of English and supported by the Modern Language Association and the Linguistic Society of America |title=The English Language, Volume 2: Essays by Linguistics and Men of Letters 1858–1964 |publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rB07AAAAIAAJ |isbn=978-0-451-14076-0 |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105917/https://books.google.com/books?id=rB07AAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite news|work=The Guardian|first=Shane|last=Hickey|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/10/the-innovators-the-app-promising-the-perfect-fitting-bra|title=The innovators: the app promising the perfect-fitting bra|date=10 January 2015|access-date=6 January 2017|archive-date=27 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227091857/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/10/the-innovators-the-app-promising-the-perfect-fitting-bra|url-status=live}}
* {{cite news|work=The Listener |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |last=Hislop |first=Ian |volume=111 |title=Ian Hislop |date=1984|title-link=Ian Hislop }}
* {{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Huxley|1868}}|title= A Liberal Education |last1= Huxley |first1= Thomas Henry |author-link=Thomas Henry Huxley |isbn=978-1-425-35760-3|date=2005 |publisher= Kessinger Publishing}}
* {{cite book |first=Joseph P. |last=Lash |date=1981 |orig-year=1971 |title=Eleanor and Franklin |publisher=Penguin Group Canada |isbn=978-0-451-14076-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RerFcT6cu6IC |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105917/https://books.google.com/books?id=RerFcT6cu6IC |url-status=live }}; quoted in ''Reader's Digest'', 1983, as an example of its awkwardness when referring to both sexes.
* {{cite book
 |ref          = {{SfnRef|Paley|1825}}
 |title        = The Works of William Paley: The principles of moral and political philosophy
 |last1        = Paley
 |first1       = William
 |author-link1 = William Paley
 |last2        = Paley
 |first2       = Edmund
 |last3        = Paxton
 |first3       = James
 |url          = https://archive.org/details/workswilliampal01paxtgoog
 |date         = 1825
 |publisher    = C. and J. Rivington and J. Nunn
}}
* {{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|Ruskin|1866}} |title=The Works of John Ruskin: The Crown of Wild Olive |last=Ruskin |first=John |author-link=John Ruskin |url=https://archive.org/details/worksjohnruskin56ruskgoog |date=1873 |orig-year=1866 |publisher=George Allen }}
<!--
* {{cite book|title= The Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare: Venus and Adonis. Rape of Lucrece. Sonnets. Lover's complaint. Passionate pilgrim. Memoirs of Lord Southampton
|last1= Shakespeare|first1=W.
|last2= Boswell |first2=J.
|last3= Farmer |first3=R.
|last4= Rowe |first4=N.
|last5= Steevens |first5=G.
|last6= Malone |first6=E.
|last7= Capell |first7=E.
|last8= Johnson |first8=S.
|last9= Pope |first9=A.
|url= https://archive.org/details/playsandpoemswi22rowegoog
|date= 1821|publisher= F. C. and J. Rivington|ref={{SfnRef|Shakespeare|1821}}}}
-->
* {{cite book
 |ref          = {{SfnRef|Shakespeare|1599}}
 |title        = Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
 |last1        = Shakespeare
 |first1       = W.
 |last2        = Loffelt
 |first2       = Antonie Cornelis
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=-nJZAAAAcAAJ
 |date         = 1867
 |publisher    = J. L. Beijers en J. van Boekhoven
 |access-date  = 6 January 2017
 |archive-date = 13 December 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105918/https://books.google.com/books?id=-nJZAAAAcAAJ
 |url-status   = live
}}
* {{cite news|work=The Telegraph |first=Alex |last=Spillius |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1949789/US-elections-Hillary-Clinton-about-to-drop-out.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1949789/US-elections-Hillary-Clinton-about-to-drop-out.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= US elections: Hillary Clinton 'about to drop out' |date=12 May 2008}}{{cbignore}}
* {{cite book |title=The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray: in 22 Volumes: Vanity fair |last1=Thackeray |first1=William Makepeace |author-link=William Makepeace Thackeray |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aOk8AAAAYAAJ |date=1868 |publisher=Smith, Elder |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213110418/https://books.google.com/books?id=aOk8AAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |chapter=On Lett's Diary |title=The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray |last1=Thackeray |first1=William Makepeace |author-link=William Makepeace Thackeray |volume=20 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2Y6AQAAMAAJ |date=1869 |publisher=Smith, Elder |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213110419/https://books.google.com/books?id=t2Y6AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last1= Weiss|first1= R. E.|last2= Kaplan|first2= S. A.|last3= Fair|first3= W. R.|title= Management of Prostate Diseases|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JK2a4Mmb-84C|date= 2004|publisher= Professional Communications Inc.|location= Cambridge; New York|isbn= 978-1-884-73595-0|access-date= 6 January 2017|archive-date= 13 December 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231213110420/https://books.google.com/books?id=JK2a4Mmb-84C|url-status= live}}
{{refend}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |access-date=9 January 2016 |first=Mark |last=Abadi |website=[[Business Insider]] |date=8 January 2016 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-word-they-named-2015-word-of-the-year-2016-1 |title='They' was just named 2015's Word of the Year |archive-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109014358/http://www.businessinsider.com/the-word-they-named-2015-word-of-the-year-2016-1 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|American Heritage Dictionaries|1996}} |date=1996 |title=The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEHFyMCdwssC |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0-547-56321-3 |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213110420/https://books.google.com/books?id=BEHFyMCdwssC |url-status=live}}
* {{cite press release |access-date=9 January 2016 |ref={{SfnRef|American Dialect Society|2016}} |publisher=[[American Dialect Society]] |date=8 January 2016 |url=https://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they |title=2015 Word of the Year is singular ''they'' |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306073612/http://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|APA|2001}} |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=[[American Psychological Association]] |date=2001 |title=Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association |isbn=1-55798-790-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/publicationmanu000amer |url-access=registration |edition=5th}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=Jennifer E |last2=Venkatesh |first2=Ranjani |last3=Vig |first3=Zachary A |title=Gender competition in the production of nonbinary 'they' |journal=Glossa Psycholinguistics |date=2024 |volume=3 |issue=1 |doi=10.5070/G60111306 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0pp284w3 |doi-access=free |access-date=24 April 2024 |archive-date=24 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424221801/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0pp284w3 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=C. |last=Badendyck |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/07/magazine/l-hypersexism-and-the-feds-104770.html |title=[Letter commenting on] Hypersexism And the Feds |date=7 July 1985 |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628052500/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/07/magazine/l-hypersexism-and-the-feds-104770.html |url-status=live}} As quoted by Miller and Swift.
<!--
* {{cite book|last1= Bain |first1= Alexander |title= An English Grammar |url= https://archive.org/details/anenglishgramma00magoog |access-date=27 December 2013 |date=1895|publisher= Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green}}
-->
* {{cite book |last1=Baskervill |first1=W. M. |last2=Sewell |first2=J. W. |title=An English Grammar |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14006 |access-date=17 December 2013 |date=1895 |archive-date=14 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014024559/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14006 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Purdue OWL}} |url=https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/595/01/ |last1=Berry |first1=Chris |last2=Brizee |first2=Allen |title=Using Pronouns Clearly |access-date=2 August 2014 |archive-date=12 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712183843/https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/595/01/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bodine |first=Ann |date=August 1975 |title=Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar: Singular ''They'', Sex-Indefinite ''He'', and ''He or She'' |url=https://web.stanford.edu/~eckert/Courses/l1562018/Readings/Bodine1970.pdf |journal=Language in Society |issn=0047-4045 |volume=4 |issue=2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=129–146 |doi=10.1017/s0047404500004607 |jstor=4166805 |s2cid=146362006 |access-date=26 April 2023 |archive-date=26 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426000507/https://web.stanford.edu/~eckert/Courses/l1562018/Readings/Bodine1970.pdf |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-226-10389-1 |edition=14th |ref={{SfnRef|Chicago|1993}} |url=https://archive.org/details/chicagomanualofs00chic}}
* {{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Chicago Manual of Style |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/frontmatter/toc.html |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=2017 |isbn=9780226287058 |edition=17th |ref={{SfnRef|Chicago|2017}} |access-date=7 March 2021 |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302044400/https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/frontmatter/toc.html |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Chicago Manual of Style |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed18/frontmatter/toc.html |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=2024 |isbn=9780226817972 |edition=18th |ref={{SfnRef|Chicago|2024}} |access-date=16 June 2025 |archive-date=29 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250429070950/https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed18/frontmatter/toc.html |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Choy |first1=Penelope |last2=Clark |first2=Dorothy Goldbart |title=Basic Grammar and Usage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blTjn22l_bAC |isbn=978-1-428-21155-1 |date=2010 |edition=8th |publisher=Cengage Learning |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213110420/https://books.google.com/books?id=blTjn22l_bAC |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/13/tech/social-media/facebook-gender-custom/ |last=Griggs |first=Brandon |title=Facebook goes beyond 'male' and 'female' with new gender options |date=13 February 2014 |publisher=CNN |ref={{SfnRef|CNN|2014}} |access-date=15 October 2018 |archive-date=16 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016034257/https://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/13/tech/social-media/facebook-gender-custom/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Curzan |first1=Anne |title=Gender Shifts in the History of English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQ20vvzacXMC |isbn=978-1-139-43668-7 |date=2003 |series=Studies in English Language |publisher=Cambridge University Press |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213110420/https://books.google.com/books?id=qQ20vvzacXMC |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |publisher=Springer Netherlands |last1=Duží |first1=Marie |last2=Jespersen |first2=Bjørn |last3=Materna |first3=Pavel |title=Procedural Semantics for Hyperintensional Logic: Foundations and Applications of Transparent Intensional Logic |date=2010 |isbn=9789048188123}}
* {{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Economist Style Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/styleguide0000unse_a6y7 |url-access=registration |edition=10th |isbn=978-1-846-68606-1 |date=2010 |publisher=[[The Economist Group]] / Profile Books |ref={{SfnRef|Economist |2010}}}}
* {{cite web |title=Federation Press Style Guide for Use in Preparation of Book Manuscripts |url=http://www.federationpress.com.au/StyleGuidelinesforFederationPress.pdf |access-date=14 January 2014 |ref={{SfnRef|Federation Press |2014}} |archive-date=10 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510205621/https://www.federationpress.com.au/StyleGuidelinesforFederationPress.pdf |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |title=A New Grammar: Being the Most Easy Guide to Speaking and Writing the English Language Properly and Correctly (reprinted in facsimile) |last=Fisher |first=Ann |author-link=Ann Fisher (grammarian) |date=1750 |orig-year=1745 |edition=2nd |publisher=Scolar Press |publication-date=1974 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QyefswEACAAJ |access-date=8 September 2020 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213110420/https://books.google.com/books?id=QyefswEACAAJ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fowler |first1=Henry Ramsey |last2=Aaron |first2=Jane E. |title=The Little, Brown Handbook |url=https://archive.org/details/littlebrownhandb00fowl |url-access=registration |edition=5th |date=1992 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-673-52132-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/littlebrownhandb00fowl/page/300 300–301]}}. N.B.: This is not the English usage authority Henry Watson Fowler.
* {{cite book |ref={{SfnRef|Fowler|Crystal|1926}} |last1=Fowler |first1=H. W. |last2=Crystal |first2=David |title=A Dictionary of Modern English Usage |date=2009 |orig-year=1926 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-199-58589-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fowler |first1=H. W. |last2=Gowers |first2=Sir Ernest |title=A Dictionary of Modern English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00fowlrich |url-access=registration |date=1965 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fowler |first1=H. W. |last2=Burchfield |first2=R. W. |title=The New Fowler's Modern English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/newfowlersmodern00fowl |url-access=registration |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-198-61021-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fowler |first1=H. W. |editor1-last=Butterfield |editor1-first=Jeremy |title=Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-966135-0}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Foertsch |first1=Julie |last2=Gernsbacher |first2=Morton Ann |date=March 1997 |title=In Search of Gender Neutrality: Is Singular ''They'' a Cognitively Efficient Substitute for Generic ''He''? |url=http://gernsbacherlab.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/1/Foertsch_Gender-Neutrality-They-or-He_PS_1997.pdf |journal=Psychological Science |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=106–111 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00691.x |pmid=25593408 |pmc=4293036 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502082946/http://gernsbacherlab.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/1/Foertsch_Gender-Neutrality-They-or-He_PS_1997.pdf |archive-date=2015-05-02}}
* {{cite book |last=Garner |first=Bryan A. |author-link=Bryan A. Garner |title=Garner's Modern American Usage |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-516191-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/garnersmodername00garn}}
* {{cite book |last=Garner |first=Bryan A. |title=Garner's Modern English Usage |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-049148-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gowers |first1=Ernest |author-link1=Ernest Gowers |last2=Fraser |first2=Bruce |author-link2=Bruce Fraser (civil servant) |title=The Complete Plain Words |date=1973 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-11-700340-8 |bibcode=1973cpw..book.....G}}
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{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* [[Amia Srinivasan]], "He, She, One, They, Ho, Hus, Hum, Ita" (review of Dennis Baron, ''What's Your Pronoun? Beyond He and She'', Liveright, 2020, {{ISBN|978 1 63149 6042}}, 304 pp.), ''[[London Review of Books]]'', vol. 42, no. 13 (2 July 2020), pp.&nbsp;34–39. Srinivasan writes (p.&nbsp;39): "People use non-standard [[pronoun]]s, or use pronouns in non-standard ways, for various reasons: to accord with their sense of themselves, to make their passage through the world less painful, to prefigure and hasten the arrival of a world in which divisions of sex no longer matter. So too we can choose to respect people's pronouns for many reasons."

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|they|them|their|theirs|themselves|themself}}
* "[http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/linguafranca/anyone-who-had-a-heart-would-know-their-own/3343308#transcript Anyone who had a heart (would know their own language)]" by Geoff Pullum. Transcript of a radio talk.
* [https://www.oed.com/discover/a-brief-history-of-singular-they/ A brief history of singular 'they'] (OED word stories, Dennis Baron)
{{English gender-neutral pronouns}}

[[Category:English usage controversies]]
[[Category:Grammatical number]]
[[Category:Modern English personal pronouns]]