Fifty shades of ‘they’

Submitted by Judy Hanning on Thu, 2017-06-08 18:00
The word “they” is a formal pronoun that was not always accepted, but it has been around for seven hundred years in the English Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Oftentimes people think that using they is not appropriate for talking about a single person, but they means all people some people know people any people so they is completely appropriate to use. The last five years is when they became less controversial to news editor and magazine publications.

“They” is a legitimate way of referring back to an unknown person or persons, neither singular nor plural, masculine nor feminine. 

In the early 1330 using “they” to talk about an antecedent or something that comes after became completely appropriate to use that is the first instance of they being used as a formal pronoun there is much argument about when there is appropriately used but as long as it is talking about a person then they will suffice. If you’re uncomfortable using they there is an alternative that can be used which is an indefinite pronoun.
Although some people object to the usage, the most respected modern grammarians now say this use of “they” with indefinite pronouns—“everybody,” “nobody,” “anyone,” and so on—is grammatically correct.
~ The Grammarphobia Blog

Key Takeaways:

1
Historically, the singular use of “they” has been frowned upon.
2
The singular use of “they” has become more prevalent over time.
3
The singular use of “they” can sound awkward when used with an indefinite pronoun.
Read the full article here:
http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2017/05/they-4.html