Singular they Totally Explained

Everything about Singular They totally explained

"Singular" they is a popular, non-technical expression for uses of the pronoun they (and its inflected forms) when plurality isn't required by the context. "Singular" they remains morphologically and syntactically plural (it still takes plural forms of verbs). However, it's often semantically indeterminate in number. More technically, these uses can be described as generic or epicene they.

Summary

Generic they has indeterminate number:

There's not a man I meet but doth salute me / As if I were their well-acquainted friend — Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, Act IV, Scene 3 (1594)

(Their can be understood equally well as referring to each man considered one at a time, or to all of them collectively.) Epicene they has indeterminate gender:

"It can't be true what the girls at the Rectory said, that her mother was an opera-dancer—" ť "A person can’t help their birth," Rosalind replied. — Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848)

(The relevant person here's Becky Sharp. Thackeray has Rosalind using their as a polite circumlocution, perhaps avoiding generic he associated with a specific woman.)
   In neither case is "singular" they unambiguously a semantic or morpho-syntactic singular. What it actually agrees with is the plurality implicit in the indeterminacy of generic antecedents.
   This is explained by David Lewis' analysis of an aspect of the logic of the semantics of natural language, now called quantificational variability effect (QVE). Broader research in the area is still active, under the name donkey pronouns. In this kind of analysis, "singular" they in English is typically an example of a semantically bound variable, rather than a simple referential pronoun. It is most clearly evident in the special case of distributive constructions, where the preference many languages show for singular pronouns probably gives rise to the singular in "singular" they. Steven Pinker proposes the word they be considered to be a pair of "homonyms" — two different words with the same spelling and sound.
   This would be analogous to a language like Basque, which uses the word nork both as an indeterminate pronoun meaning "who" and also as a marker in distributive constructions.

Basque has two ways of expressing universal distributive quantifications: (i) lexically, through the quantifier bakoitz 'each'; (ii) configurationally, through the construction exemplified in (1).

(1) Nork/zeinek bere ama ikusi du

who-erg/which-erg his/her mother seen has

'Everyone saw his/her mother'

In (1), an indeterminate pronoun takes on a universal distributive value. Such a value isn't a lexical property of the relevant indeterminate pronouns.

Basque is far from the only example of this. Kuroda considers it typical of east Asian languages, Japanese and Korean in particular. Yet other languages have even more particular ways of expressing distribution and quantification. Sumerian, structurally similar to Basque, uses a nominal suffix, dedli, to indicate "each individual".

Technical terms

Distribution

Distributive constructions are those which apply a single idea to all entities of a group, hence involving both singular and plural ideas. They are typically marked in English by words like each and every. The simplest examples are applied to groups of two, and use words like either and or. Thorough analysis of distribution requires treatment of negation. Hence, the Shakespeare quote above is semantically distributive, because there's not a man is logically equivalent to every man does not. Since distributive constructions apply an idea relevant to each individual in the group, rather than to the group as a whole, they're most often conceived of as singular, and singular pronouns are used.

England expects that every man will do his duty. — Nelson

Every dog hath his day. ť — John Ray, A Collection of English Proverbs, 1670

   originally from Plutarch, Moralia, c. 95 AD, regarding the death of Euripides However, English is typical of many languages that show ambivalence in this regard. Because distribution also requires a group with more than one member, plural forms are sometimes used. The Shakespeare quote is probably an example of such a usage. The alternative would be that he intended epicene they in agreement with generic man, including women. Many clear examples of the plural being used in other languages, and coming into English by translation, are found in the King James Version of the Bible, which attempted very literal translation. The fact that singular forms are, nonetheless, more natural in distributive constructions is inadvertently demonstrated by a website that, its makers not having researched the original languages, unadvisedly assumed a singular interpretation of they in translations of plurals in the original.
   English is typical of many languages because it forms distributives with pronouns and marks for singular and plural. These languages demonstrate a preference for singular pronouns but attest plurals in a substantial minority of cases. Both forms being comprehensible to native speakers, usage depends on context, clarity, style and logic (for logic, see below).
   Strunk and White's The Elements of Style notes both uses.
   This is a semantic assessment (note the words "inaccuracy", "implying", "requires", "justification" and "intention"), however, claims regarding accuracy can be demonstrated to be true or false. Strunk and White have been proven wrong on this point by logical analysis of quantification in natural language (like Pinker following Lewis and others above) — distributive expressions are neither exclusively singular or plural, they're indeterminate in number. In their metalanguage, quantifiers are applied over the "domain" (or "restriction") of a variable. Where natural language speakers use words or clitics to signal generalizations, language analysts define what they call variables that range over any element of the set of members of a group — the domain. Consider the examples of

natural language — Every good boy deserves fruit; and

formal language —

forall bin B, b.G Rightarrow b.DF.

The symbol, b, is used to represent a variable that can refer to any boy (the elements of the set of all boys, B). The upside-down A is a standard symbol for the universal quantifier — for all, for each or for every in natural language. In predicate logic, the truth-value of the proposition expressed above in a formal language doesn't depend on the particular value of the variable, b. This matches our natural language understanding. Whether or not every good boy deserves fruit doesn't depend on any particular boy. Because the truth-value of the proposition doesn't depend on the value of the variable, the variable is called bound. If, however, there's no quantifier, the variable is called free, and the truth value of the proposition depends on the value of the variable. This also matches natural language. Whether Adam is bad or deserves fruit depends on Adam.
Pinker argues that usage of "singular" they in English can't be condemned on grammatical grounds, because it's probably better understood as a linguistic marker of a bound variable rather than as a pronoun with a referent. "On logical grounds, then, variables are not the same thing as the more familiar 'referential' pronouns that trigger number agreement."}}

Examples of generic he

Every person who turns this page has his own little diary. — Thackeray

Suppose the life and fortune of every one of us would depend on his winning or losing a game of chess. — Thomas Huxley, 'A Liberal Education' (1868)

If any one didn't know it, it was his own fault. — George Washington Cable, Old Creole Days (1879)

Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. — Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

It wouldn’t be as if the lone astronaut would be completely by himself. — Nancy Atkinson, 'A One Way One Person Mission to Mars'

(4 March 2008) Generic he is still current English usage, however the gender neutral language movement discourages this use.

Generic they

Generic he was a preference in usage, not a binding grammatical "rule", as Thackeray's use of both forms demonstrates. "The alternative to the masculine generic with the longest and most distinguished history in English is the third-person plural pronoun. Recognized writers have used they, them, themselves, and their to refer to singular nouns such as one, a person, an individual, and each since the 1300s."

Examples of generic they

Eche of theym sholde ... make theymselfe redy. — Caxton

Arise; one knocks. / ... / Hark, how they knock! — Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother, since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear the speech. — Shakespeare, Hamlet

I'd have everybody marry if they can do it properly. — Austen, Mansfield Park (1814)

That's always your way, Maim—always sailing in to help somebody before they're hurt. — Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

Caesar: "No, Cleopatra. No man goes to battle to be killed." / Cleopatra: "But they do get killed". — Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) Of the example from Shaw, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage (1989) states flatly:
"It would be a violation of English idiom to use a singular pronoun in [that] sentence (But he does get killed) on the assumption that because no man is singular in form and governs a singular verb, it must take a singular pronoun in reference. Notional agreement is in control, and its dictates must be followed." In other words, no man is syntactically singular, demonstrated by taking the singular form goes; however, it's semantically plural, hence idiomatically requiring generic or plural (not singular) they.
   A majority of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language usage panel "of some 200 distinguished educators, writers, and public speakers" "reject the use of they with singular antecedents" inasmuch as 82 percent of the panelists found the sentence "The typical student in the program takes about six years to complete their course work" to be unacceptable.
   Study has also shown that reading time of they increases significantly when used with a gender-determinate antecedent, suggesting that such use can confuse.
   Both generic he and generic they have long histories of use, and both are still used. However, both are also systematically avoided by particular groups. Style guides that avoid expressing a preference for either approach recommend recasting generic expressions as plurals to avoid the criticisms of either party.
   Irrespective of the debate, when used, "singular" they can be seen to have an implication of indefinite reference (indefinite number or indefinite gender). It is most commonly used with indefinite referents of a distributive nature such as someone, anyone, everyone, and no one. Such references are not to one particular person but to a large group taken one at a time, causing influence from the implied plural. This is also evident in the case of some singular collective nouns, as in "The police are on their way." This phenomenon is somewhat less extensive in North American than in British and similar varieties of English, in which one might also hear "Chelsea have defeated Liverpool" or "The Government are of the view that...." or "The audience were laughing." Use of singular or plural forms in such cases is a matter of style not syntax, with regional variation in frequency.

Grammatical analysis

According to the traditional analysis, English personal pronouns are typically used to refer back, or forward within a sentence, to a noun phrase (which may be a simple noun). (According to a newer analysis, to a determiner phrase, which may be a simple determiner.)

	Nominative (subject)	Accusative (object)	Prenominal possessive	Predicative possessive	Reflexive
He	He laughs.	I hug him.	His hair grows.	I use his.	He feeds himself.
She	She laughs.	I hug her.	Her hair grows.	I use hers.	She feeds herself.
Prototypical they	When my kids watch "The Simpsons", they laugh.	Whether they win or lose, I hug them.	As long as people live, their hair grows.	Most of my friends have cell phones, so I use theirs.	The children feed themselves.
"Singular" they	When I tell someone a joke they laugh.	When I greet a friend I hug them.	When someone doesn't get a haircut, their hair grows long.	If my cell phone dies, a friend I'm with lets me borrow theirs.	Each child feeds themself/themselves.
Generic he	When I tell someone a joke he laughs.	When I greet a friend I hug him.	When someone doesn't get a haircut, his hair grows long.	If my cell phone dies, a friend I'm with lets me borrow his.	Each child feeds himself.

Plural

All good students do their homework. Generic (indeterminate number)

A good student is known for doing his homework OR

A good student is known for doing their homework (widely prescribed in gender-neutral style guides) Singular

Mary is known for doing her homework In the middle two of these example sentences, traditional grammars speak of the pronoun referring to a good student. However, following analysis by Quine,
"Singular" they, although morphologically a plural pronoun, is often used in those circumstances when an indefinite number is signified by an indefinite singular antecedent; for example,

The person you mentioned, are they coming?, not *… is they coming? This is analogous to the pronoun you, which originally was only plural, but by about 1700 replaced thou for singular referents, while retaining the plural verb form. Some uses of "singular" they follow a grammatical rule whereby singular indefinite antecedents (such as everyone, anyone, no one, and all) are followed by a coordinate or independent clause containing the plural pronoun 'they'. The plural reflexive form themselves is used as well; with some speakers using the singular form themself, in particular with semantically singular they.
Even when the gender is known, they is sometimes found with a generic referent. For example: "A teenage boy rarely thinks about their future." A teenage boy rarely thinks about his future is more likely in formal writing.
Many other modern uses follow the prescription of gender-neutral English in the style manuals of various organizations. As the syntactically singular third-person pronouns of English are all either gender-specific (he and she) or inappropriate for reference to people (it), "singular" they is also often used where the sex of the referent is either unknown or irrelevant:

A child becomes an adult when they turn 18.

Someone called for you, but they didn't leave a message.

Gender neutral language movement

In the late 20th century, the feminist movement expressed concern regarding the use of generic he in the English language. The feminist claim was that such usage contributes to an assumption that maleness is "standard," and that femaleness is "different". They also claimed that such use is misogynistic. One response to this was an increase in the use of generic she in academic journal articles from around this time. However, the more common response has been prescriptive, with many institutions publishing gender neutral style guides, notably in government, academia and publishing. For example, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage (2004) 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. … 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. … For those listening or reading, it has become unremarkable - an element of common usage.

The use of masculine generic nouns and pronouns in written and spoken language has decreased since the 1960s. In a corpus of spontaneous speech collected in Australia in the 1990s, "singular" they had become the most frequently used generic pronoun. The increased usage of "singular" they may be at least partly due to an increasing desire for gender-neutral language; while writers a hundred years ago might have had no qualm using he with a referent of indeterminate gender, writers today often feel uncomfortable with this. One solution in formal writing has often been to write he or she, or something similar, but this is considered awkward when used excessively, overly politically correct, or both.
In certain contexts, singular they may sound less obtrusive and more natural than generic he, or he or she give the following example:

Nobody in their right mind would do a thing like that.

The alternative formulation ("Nobody in his right mind […]") "now seems inappropriate to a large proportion of speakers, who systematically avoid the use of he in such contexts".
   Some grammar and usage guides have accepted singular uses of they, in cases limited to references to an indeterminate person. For example, A person might find themself in a fix is considered standard English, but not *Dr. Brown might find themself in a fix. For the latter, the most usual circumlocutions are: recasting the sentence in the plural (Doctors might find themselves …), second person (If you're a doctor, you might find yourself …), or sometimes reflexive (One might find oneself …). Singular they is occasionally used to refer to an indeterminate person whose gender is known, as in No mother should be forced to testify against their child.
   Some grammarians (for example, Fowler 1992, pp. 300–301) continue to view singular they as grammatically inconsistent, and recommend either recasting in the plural or avoiding the pronoun altogether. Others say that there's no sufficient reason not to extend singular they to include specific people of unknown gender, as well as to transgender, bigender, intersexual and androgyne people, and those who don't identify exclusively with either gender.
   Other manuals of style remain more neutral on the subject. The Chicago Manual of Style states: "On the one hand, it's unacceptable to a great many reasonable readers to use the generic masculine pronoun ('he' in reference to no one in particular). On the other hand, it's unacceptable to a great many readers either to resort to nontraditional gimmicks to avoid the generic masculine (by using 'he/she' or 's/he.' for example) or to use 'they' as a kind of singular pronoun." (233) On the one hand, those objecting to the generic masculine pronoun are described as "reasonable readers" while those objecting to the singular they remain unmodified by any such adjective. On the other, 'he/she' and "singular" they are described as nontraditional gimmicks. This stops short of an endorsement of any particular course of action.
   Current debate relates to wider questions of political correctness and equal rights, in particular, the extent to which language influences thought.

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