they

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English [edit]

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Etymology [edit]

The term Middle English (as they, thei) in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir—the nominative plural masculine of the demonstrative sá, which acted in Old Norse as a plural pronoun—from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”), from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”). It gradually replaced Old English hī and hīe (“they”).

Cognate to Old English þā (“those”) (whence Modern English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”), Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese tey (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Norwegian de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”), and German die (“the; those”, plural article and pronoun). See also tho.

The term has been used as a singular pronoun since at least the 1400s.

Pronunciation [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

they personal pronoun; the third person, nominative case, usually plural, but sometimes used in the singular when the gender is unknown or irrelevant (objective case them, possessive their, possessive noun theirs, reflexive plural themselves, reflexive singular themself)

  1. (the third person plural) A group of people or objects previously mentioned.
    Fred and Jane? They just arrived.
    I have a car and a truck, but they are both broken."
  2. (the third person singular, disputed) A single person, previously mentioned, but of unknown or irrelevant gender. [since the 1400s]
  3. (indefinite pronoun, vague meaning) People; some people; someone, excluding the speaker.
    They say it’s a good place to live.
    They didn’t have computers in the old days.
    They should do something about this.
    They have a lot of snow in winter.

Usage notes [edit]

  • For centuries, they has been used with a singular antecedent; however, many condemn this usage for its violation of traditional agreement rules. Writers should use this construction only if they are sure that it will be viewed as an intentional choice, rather than an error. See singular they for a more in-depth discussion.
  • When the sex of the person referred to is known or clear, as there is no need to use they, it is preferable to use gender-specific pronouns instead. For example:
    The doctor's advice to a pregnant woman is that she should take folic acid during her pregnancy.
which is preferable to
The doctor's advice to a pregnant woman is that they should take folic acid during their pregnancy.
  • Another indefinite pronoun is one, but the two words do not mean the same and are rarely interchangeable. "They" refers to people in general, whereas "one" refers to one person and what is true for that person is true for everyone. A writer may also use "you" when talking to everyone in the audience.
    They say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
    One may say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
    You may say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Translations [edit]

third-person plural pronoun
third-person singular, of unknown or irrelevant gender
one, people, some people

See also [edit]

English personal pronouns
Number Person Gender Subject Objective Reflexive Possessive adjective Possessive pronoun
Singular First — I me myself my mine
Second — you,
thou (archaic)		 you,
thee (archaic)		 yourself,
thyself (archaic)
theeself (archaic)		 your,
thy (archaic)		 yours,
thine (archaic)
Third Masculine he him himself his
Feminine she her herself her hers
Neuter it itself its its (rare)
Gender-neutral they them themself their theirs
Plural First — we us ourselves our ours
Second — you,
ye (archaic)		 you yourselves your yours
Third — they them themselves their theirs
Indefinite Third — one oneself one's —

Determiner [edit]

they

  1. (archaic or dialectal) those (used for people)
    • 1802 Swedenborg, E. Arcana cœlestia: or Heavenly mysteries contained in the sacred Scriptures, or Word of the Lord, manifested and laid open [an exposition of Genesis and Exodus]. J. & E. Hodson
      Whereas they are called nations, who are principled in charity and they people who are principled in faith, therefore the priesthood of the Lord is predicated of nations as relation to things celestial, which are goodnesses...
    • 1883 Judy, or the London serio-comic journal, Volume 33 Harvard University [2]
      Darn'd if they Cockney Chaps can zee there worn't nort but lie in him.

References [edit]

Statistics [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

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