they

they
/dhay/, pron. pl., poss. their or theirs, obj. them.
1. nominative plural of he, she, and it.
2. people in general: They say he's rich.
3. (used with an indefinite singular antecedent in place of the definite masculine he or the definite feminine she): Whoever is of voting age, whether they are interested in politics or not, should vote.
[1150-1200; ME < ON their they (r. OE hi(e)); c. OE tha, pl. of thaet THAT]
Usage. Long before the use of generic HE was condemned as sexist, the pronouns THEY, THEIR, and THEM were used in educated speech and in all but the most formal writing to refer to indefinite pronouns and to singular nouns of general personal reference, probably because such nouns are often not felt to be exclusively singular: If anyone calls, tell them I'll be back at six. Everyone began looking for their books at once.
Such use is not a recent development, nor is it a mark of ignorance. Shakespeare, Swift, Shelley, Scott, and Dickens, as well as many other English and American writers, have used THEY and its forms to refer to singular antecedents. Already widespread in the language (though still rejected as ungrammatical by some), this use of THEY, THEIR, and THEM is increasing in all but the most conservatively edited American English. This increased use is at least partly impelled by the desire to avoid the sexist implications of HE as a pronoun of general reference. See also he1.

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  • They — (IPAEng|ðeɪ) is a third person, personal pronoun (subject case) in Modern English.UsageThe singular they is the use of this pronoun, where they is used as a gender neutral singular rather than plural pronoun. The correctness of this usage is… …   Wikipedia

  • they — [ ðeı ] pronoun *** They is used as the subject of a verb: They killed him. In formal English they can also be used after the verb to be, especially before a relative clause: It is they who are telling lies. 1. ) used for referring to a group of… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • They — ([th][=a]), pron. pl.; poss. {Theirs}; obj. {Them}. [Icel. [thorn]eir they, properly nom. pl. masc. of s[=a], s[=u], [thorn]at, a demonstrative pronoun, akin to the English definite article, AS. s[=e], se[ o], [eth][ae]t, nom. pl. [eth][=a]. See… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • they'd — [ ðeıd ] short form 1. ) the usual way of saying or writing they would. This is not often used in formal writing: They said they d be happy to help. 2. ) the usual way of saying or writing they had when had is an AUXILIARY verb. This is not often …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • they'd — [ðeıd] 1.) the short form of they had ▪ If only they d been there. 2.) the short form of they would ▪ It s a pity my parents didn t come they d have enjoyed it …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • they'll — [ðeıl] the short form of they will ▪ They ll be tired after the long journey …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • they're — [ðə strong ðeə, ðeıə $ ðər strong ðer, ðeıər] the short form of they are ▪ They re going to Crete next week …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • they've — [ðeıv] the short form of they have ▪ They ve had a lot of trouble with their car …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • they'll — [ ðeıl ] short form the usual way of saying or writing they will. This is not often used in formal writing: Hurry up! They ll be here any minute …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • they're — [ ðer ] short form the usual way of saying or writing they are. This is not often used in formal writing: I bought these oranges yesterday, but they re not very good …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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