Felix.

Use of the word 'They'

Is it ok to use the word 'they' to describe someone. ie can I talk about someone as 'they' instead of 'him' or 'her'.

eg "She was told not to go" is it ok to say "They were told not to go"


This is an argument at work in which a report came flying back to me. If it is OK to use it, is there any physical evidence I could use to quote that this is correct when I send the report back from where it came. I'd love to stick this at the front of the report and write 'Told You So....' at the bottom.

bigsinky

get the great book "eats shoots and leaves" english grammar has never been the same for me

cheers

sinky

ProperCharlie

they is the plural of he, she or it. so if you are talking about only one person, it could be argued that they is not the correct word. However, the Shorter Oxford does give this additional usage:

In relation to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender: he or she. (considered erroneous by some.)

IMO if that's all they can find to critisise in your report, they are clutching at staws.

Mr.Cookie

To me "They" implies more than one, but as my english sucks you may need more help

Si

bigsinky

/pedant mode on

as opposed to "straws"

/pedant mode off

ProperCharlie

damn - beaten to the edit again.

milo

if ever i do a report, i always do two versions.

one version with one glaringly obvious mistake, and one without.

i send the one with the mistake out. it comes back and i replace it with the other version.

management will ALWAYS find a reason to get you to change a report, even if it's not valid. you might as well make it obvious for them, with an obvious typo (which saves the true meaning of your report being changed by them), and already have done the work to fix it up-front.

ajm

So, if the subject has no antecedent, i.e. is a hitherto unknown quantity by gender or otherwise it is acceptable to use "they"

Example: "we don't know who did it, but they left a mess!"

The alternative, using "he/she" or assuming "he" is clumsy in my opinion.

I must stop getting involved in your work arguments Felix.....

Felix.

Cool.

So if I've started a new paragraph with 'they' and have not re-introduced the subject as male or female, then that paragraph would be correct I assume.

ProperCharlie

that's a fair point, milo. however, it's very difficult to get people to produce documents in a style and tone that is agreeable. every now and then i circulate one of my letters to everyone in the office, and ask them to please ensure all correspondence follows the same format. you wouldn't think that would be much to ask, would you? well it is.

it's a different point, but at the same time i am sure there are people thinking - my letters look just as good as that - why should i change it just cos he does them different? bl**dy management.

douglasb

I'm with ProperCharlie on this. Strictly, "they" is plural, so if you are only referring to one individual then he/she/it would be grammatically better. However, it sounds like your meaning was perfectly clear. I agree with PC that bouncing a report for such a minor issue seems petty.

However, if you are not referring to a specific individual, Collins Dictionary has a useful definition.
Doug

ProperCharlie

Felix - the way i understand the additional meaning cited by the OSD is that they can be used to replace he/she/it where the gender of subject is not known. if you do know, i suppose it would be more appropriate to use he or she. however, i don't see how it could be categorically wrong to use they.

fatherpierre

Just like not using capitals at the start of each sentence is wrong.

eClaire

Ask the muppets! Seriously!

TelBoy, Bubba Po and Co are very good with this sort of thing

ProperCharlie

fatherpierre - is that an adjective dependent clause fragment that you have there?