Editing Singular they (section)

===Contemporary usage===
The use of masculine generic nouns and pronouns in written and spoken language has decreased since the 1970s.{{sfn|Pauwels|2003|pp=563–564}}
In a corpus of spontaneous speech collected in Australia in the 1990s, singular ''they'' had become the most frequently used generic pronoun (rather than generic ''he'' or ''he or she'').{{sfn|Pauwels|2003|pp=563–564}} Similarly, a study from 2002 looking at a corpus of American and British newspapers showed a preference for ''they'' to be used as a singular epicene pronoun.<ref name="Baranowski Current Usage of They">{{cite journal |last=Baranowski |first=Maciej |title=Current usage of the epicene pronoun in written English |journal=Journal of Sociolinguistics |date=2002 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=378–397 |doi=10.1111/1467-9481.00193}}</ref>

The increased use of singular ''they'' may owe in part to an increasing desire for [[gender-neutral language]]. A solution in formal writing has often been to write "''he or she"'', or something similar, but this is often considered awkward or overly [[political correctness|politically correct]], particularly when used excessively.{{sfn|Matossian|1997}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Balhorn |first=Mark |title=The epicene pronoun in contemporary newspaper prose |journal=American Speech |date=2009 |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=391–413 |doi=10.1215/00031283-2009-031}}</ref> In 2016, the journal ''American Speech'' published a study by Darren K. LaScotte investigating the pronouns used by native English speakers in informal written responses to questions concerning a subject of unspecified gender, finding that 68% of study participants chose singular ''they'' to refer to such an antecedent. Some participants noted that they found constructions such as "he or she" inadequate as they do not include people who [[non-binary gender|identify as neither male nor female]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=LaScotte |first=Darren K. |date=1 February 2016 |title=Singular they: An Empirical Study of Generic Pronoun Use |journal=American Speech |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=62–80 |doi=10.1215/00031283-3509469 |issn=0003-1283}}</ref>

''They'' in this context was named Word of the Year for 2019 by Merriam-Webster<ref name="bbc-woty">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50735371|title=Merriam-Webster: Non-binary pronoun 'they' is word of year|work=BBC News|date=10 December 2019|access-date=10 December 2019|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211012312/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50735371|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ap-woty">{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/0b88fde3eeb023355fc2be0f8955a0b5|title=Merriam-Webster declares 'they' its 2019 word of the year|date=10 December 2019|website=AP NEWS|access-date=27 December 2020|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125205856/https://apnews.com/article/0b88fde3eeb023355fc2be0f8955a0b5|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mw-woty">{{Cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2019-they |title=Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2019 |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=May 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206130855/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2019-they |archive-date=December 6, 2020}}</ref> and for 2015 by the American Dialect Society.<ref name="ads-woty">{{Cite web |url=https://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they|title=2015 Word of the Year is singular "they" |date=9 January 2016 |website=American Dialect Society |access-date=May 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412082744/https://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they |archive-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref> On January 4, 2020, the American Dialect Society announced they had crowned ''they'', again in this context, Word of the Decade for the 2010s.<ref name="dw-wotd">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/singular-they-crowned-word-of-the-decade-by-us-linguists/a-51884397|title=Singular 'they' crowned word of the decade by US linguists &#124; DW &#124; 04.01.2020|website=Deutsche Welle|access-date=4 January 2020|archive-date=4 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104122522/https://www.dw.com/en/singular-they-crowned-word-of-the-decade-by-us-linguists/a-51884397|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Use with a pronoun antecedent====
The singular antecedent can be a pronoun such as ''someone'', ''anybody'', or ''everybody'', or an interrogative pronoun such as ''who'':
* With ''somebody'' or ''someone'':
{{blockquote|"I feel that if ''someone'' is not doing ''their'' job it should be called to ''their'' attention."|source=an American newspaper (1984); quoted by Fowler.{{sfn|Fowler|Burchfield |1996|p=776}}}}
* With ''anybody'' or ''anyone'':
{{blockquote|"If ''anyone'' tells you that America's best days are behind her, then ''they''{{'}}re looking the wrong way." President George Bush, 1991 State of the Union Address;{{sfn|Bush|1991|p=101}} quoted by Garner{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
{{blockquote|"''Anyone'' can set ''themselves'' up as an acupuncturist."|author=Sarah Lonsdale|source="Sharp Practice Pricks Reputation of Acupuncture". ''Observer'' 15 December 1991, as cited by Garner{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
{{blockquote|"If ''anybody'' calls, take ''their'' name and ask ''them'' to call again later." Example given by Swan{{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
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{{blockindent|"It will be illegal for ''anyone'' to donate an organ to ''their'' wife, husband, adopted child, adopted parent or close friend."<!--Removed this for the same reason as the sub-heading{{efn|At the time, the gender was known or assumed because same-sex marriage [[same-sex marriage#Legal recognition|had not yet been legalized]] in any country.}}--><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ballantyne |first1=Aileen |title=Transplant Jury to Vet Live Donors |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0F92980622D0429E&f=basic |url-access=registration |access-date=2022-01-02 |work=The Sunday Times |date=1990-03-25 |archive-date=15 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915172909/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews/0F92980622D0429E%26f%3Dbasic |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|Article accessible for free using a library card number from many public libraries}}}}
* With ''nobody'' or ''no one'':
{{blockquote|"''No one'' put ''their'' hand up." Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=1458}}}}
{{blockquote|"''No one'' felt ''they'' had been misled." Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
* With an interrogative pronoun as antecedent:
{{blockquote|"''Who'' thinks ''they'' can solve the problem?". Example given by Huddleston et al.; ''The Cambridge Grammar of the English language''.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=1473}}}}
* With ''everybody'', ''everyone'', etc.:
{{blockquote|"''Everyone'' promised to behave ''themselves''." Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}

=====Notional plurality or pairwise relationships=====
Although the pronouns ''everybody'', ''everyone'', ''nobody'', and ''no one'' are singular in form and are used with a singular verb, these pronouns have an "implied plurality" that is somewhat similar to the implied plurality of collective or group nouns such as ''crowd'' or ''team'',{{efn|Especially in British English, such collective nouns can be followed by a ''plural verb and a plural pronoun''; in American English such collective nouns are more usually followed by a ''singular verb and a singular pronoun''.{{sfn|Fowler|2015|p=161}}}} and in some sentences where the antecedent is one of these "implied plural" pronouns, the word ''they'' cannot be replaced by generic ''he'',{{sfn|Kolln|1986|pp=100–102}} suggesting a "notional plural" rather than a "bound variable" interpretation {{See below|{{section link||Grammatical and logical analysis}}, below}}. This is in contrast to sentences that involve multiple pairwise relationships and singular ''they'', such as:
{{blockindent|"''Everyone'' loves ''their'' mother."{{sfn|Duží |Jespersen |Materna|2010 |p=334}}}}
{{blockindent|{{"'}}I never did get into that football thing', she said after ''everyone'' returned to ''their'' seat."{{sfn|Davids|2010}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Everyone'' doubts ''themselves''/''themself'' at one time or another."}}

There are examples where the antecedent pronoun (such as ''everyone'') may refer to a collective, with no necessary implication of pairwise relationships. These are examples of plural ''they'':
{{blockindent|"At first ''everyone'' in the room was singing; then ''they'' began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.{{sfn|Kolln|1986|pp=100–102}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and ''they'' tried to. But I already knew ''they'' were there." Example given by Garner.{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=643}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Nobody'' was late, were ''they''?" Example given by Swan.{{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
Which are apparent because they do not work with a generic ''he'' or ''he or she'':
{{blockindent|"At first ''everyone'' in the room was singing; then ''he or she'' began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.{{sfn|Kolln|1986|pp=100–102}}}}
{{blockindent|"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and ''he'' tried to. But I already knew ''he'' was there."}}
{{blockindent|"''Nobody'' was late, was ''he''?"}}
In addition, for these "notional plural" cases, it would not be appropriate to use ''themself'' instead of ''themselves'' as in:
{{blockindent|"''Everybody'' was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, but ''they'' instead surprised ''themself''."}}

====Use with a generic noun as antecedent====
The singular antecedent can also be a noun such as ''person'', ''patient'', or ''student'':
* With a noun (e.g. person, student, patient) used generically (e.g. in the sense of any member of that class or a specific member unknown to the speaker or writer)
{{blockquote|"cognitive dissonance: "a concept in psychology [that] describes the condition in which ''a person's'' attitudes conflict with ''their'' behaviour".|source=''Macmillan Dictionary of Business and Management'' (1988), as cited by Garner.{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
{{blockquote|"A starting point would be to give more support to ''the company secretary''. ''They'' are, or should be, privy to the confidential deliberations and secrets of the board and the company.|author=Ronald Severn|source="Protecting the Secretary Bird". ''Financial Times'', 6 January 1992; quoted by Garner.{{sfn|Garner|2003|p=175}}}}
* With representatives of a class previously referred to in the singular
{{blockindent|"I had to decide: Is ''this person'' being irrational or is he right? Of course, ''they'' were often right."|author=Robert Burchfield|source=''U.S. News & World Report'' 11 August 1986, as cited in ''Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage''{{sfn|Merriam-Webster|2002|p=734}}}}
Even when referring to a class of persons of known sex, ''they'' is sometimes used:{{sfn|Newman|1998}}
{{blockindent|"I swear more when I'm talking to ''a boy'', because I'm not afraid of shocking ''them''". From an interview.{{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
{{blockindent|"''No mother'' should be forced to testify against ''their'' child".}}
''They'' may also be used with antecedents of mixed genders:
{{blockindent|"Let me know if ''your father or your mother'' changes ''their'' mind." Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
{{blockindent|"Either ''the husband or the wife'' has perjured ''themself''." Here ''themself'' might be acceptable to some, ''themselves'' seems less acceptable, and ''himself'' is unacceptable. Example given by Huddleston et al.{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}
Even for a definite known person of known sex, ''they'' may be used in order to ignore or conceal the sex.
{{blockindent|"I had ''a friend'' in Paris, and ''they'' had to go to hospital for a month." (definite person, not identified){{sfn|Swan|2009|loc=§528}}}}
The word ''themself'' is also sometimes used when the antecedent is known or believed to be a single person.
{{blockindent|"''Someone'' has apparently locked ''themself'' in the office."[acceptability questionable]{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=493}}}}

====Use for specific, known people, including non-binary people====
Known individuals may be referred to as ''they'' if the individual's gender is unknown to the speaker.{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}{{sfn|Teich|2012|p=12}}

A known individual may also be referred to as ''they'' if the individual is [[Non-binary gender|non-binary or genderqueer]] and considers ''they'' and derivatives as appropriate pronouns.{{sfn|Walsh|2015}}{{sfn|Teich|2012|p=12}} Several social media applications permit account holders to choose to identify their gender using one of a variety of non-binary or genderqueer options,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/02/21/gender_facebook_now_has_56_categories_to_choose_from_including_cisgender.html |title=Confused by All the New Facebook Genders? Here's What They Mean |last=Weber |first=Peter |date=21 February 2014 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |issn=1091-2339 |access-date=2016-05-14 |archive-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507153634/http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/02/21/gender_facebook_now_has_56_categories_to_choose_from_including_cisgender.html |url-status=live }}</ref> such as ''[[Gender fluidity|genderfluid]]'', ''[[agender]]'', or ''[[bigender]]'', and to designate pronouns, including ''they''/''them'', which they wish to be used when referring to them.{{sfn|CNN|2014}} Explicitly designating one's pronouns as ''they''/''them'' increases the chance that people will interpret "they" as singular.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Arnold|first1=Jennifer E.|last2=Mayo|first2=Heather|last3=Dong|first3=Lisa|title=My pronouns are they/them: Talking about pronouns changes how pronouns are understood|journal=Psychonomic Bulletin and Review|date=2021|volume=28|issue=5|pages=1688–1697|doi=10.3758/s13423-021-01905-0|pmid=33945124|pmc=8094985|url=https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-01905-0|access-date=17 June 2021|archive-date=13 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213105918/https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-021-01905-0|url-status=live}}</ref> Though "singular ''they''" has long been used with antecedents such as ''everybody'' or generic persons of unknown gender, this use, which may be chosen by an individual, is recent.{{sfn|Abadi |2016}} The earliest recorded usage of this sense documented by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' is in a tweet from 2009;<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |dictionary=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |title=they |url=https://oed.com/view/Entry/200700#eid1288185480 |access-date=16 June 2021 |edition=Online |date=June 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608131137/https://oed.com/view/Entry/200700#eid1288185480 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |user=thebutchcaucus |number=2584598369 |date=11 July 2009 |title=RT @pieskiis: @FireboltX What about they/them/theirs? #genderqueer #pronouns |access-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010090725/https://twitter.com/thebutchcaucus/status/2584598369 |archive-date=10 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> the journal ''[[American Speech]]'' documents an example from 2008 in an article in the journal ''[[Women's Studies Quarterly]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zimmer|first1=Ben|last2=Solomon|first2=Jane|last3=Carson|first3=Charles E.|title=Among the New Words|journal=American Speech|volume=91|issue=2|date=2016|pages=200–225|doi=10.1215/00031283-3633118|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/american-speech/article/91/2/200/6145/Among-the-New-Words|access-date=16 June 2021|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717084548/https://read.dukeupress.edu/american-speech/article/91/2/200/6145/Among-the-New-Words|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2020, singular ''they'' is the most popular pronoun set used by non-binary people. Approximately 80% consider it appropriate for themselves.<ref name="gendercensus2020">{{cite web |title=Gender Census 2020: Worldwide Report |url=https://gendercensus.com/results/2020-worldwide/ |website=Gender Census |access-date=10 November 2020 |date=7 November 2020 |archive-date=10 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110230452/https://gendercensus.com/results/2020-worldwide/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hekanaho2020">{{cite thesis |last=Hekanaho |first=Laura |date=8 December 2020 |title=Generic and Nonbinary Pronouns: Usage, Acceptability and Attitudes |type=PhD |publisher=University of Helsinki |isbn=9789515168313 |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/321581/hekanaho_laura_dissertation_2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=7 March 2021 |page=221 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307171934/https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/321581/hekanaho_laura_dissertation_2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live }}</ref>

The singular ''they'' in the meaning "gender-neutral singular pronoun for a known person, as a non-binary identifier"{{sfn|Steinmetz|2016}} was chosen by the [[American Dialect Society]] as their "Word of the Year" for 2015.{{sfn|Abadi|2016}} In 2016, the American Dialect Society wrote:

{{Blockquote|text="While editors have increasingly moved to accepting singular they when used in a generic fashion, voters in the Word of the Year proceedings singled out its newer usage as an identifier for someone who may identify as non-binary in gender terms."{{sfn|American Dialect Society|2016}}}}
The vote followed the previous year's approval of this use by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' style guide, when [[Bill Walsh (author)|Bill Walsh]], the ''Post''{{'}}s copy editor, said that the singular ''they'' is "the only sensible solution to English's lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun".{{sfn|Guo|2016}}

In 2019, the non-binary ''they'' was added to [[Merriam-Webster]]'s dictionary.<ref name="MW">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they|title=they|website=Merriam-Webster|access-date=19 September 2019|archive-date=29 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629021839/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NBC">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/merriam-webster-adds-nonbinary-they-pronoun-dictionary-n1055976 |title=Merriam-Webster adds nonbinary 'they' pronoun to dictionary |website=NBC News |date=18 September 2019 |access-date=2019-09-19 |archive-date=19 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919071632/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/merriam-webster-adds-nonbinary-they-pronoun-dictionary-n1055976 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CNN">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/us/merriam-webster-nonbinary-pronoun-they-trnd/index.html |title=Merriam-Webster adds the nonbinary pronoun 'they' to its dictionary |first=Kendall |last=Trammell |date=2019-09-18 |website=CNN |access-date=2019-09-19 |archive-date=19 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919134142/https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/us/merriam-webster-nonbinary-pronoun-they-trnd/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first non-binary main character on North American television appeared on the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] drama series [[Billions (TV series)|''Billions'']] in 2017, with [[Asia Kate Dillon]] playing Taylor Mason.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hibberd |first=James |title='Billions' Premiere Introduces TV's First Gender Non-Binary Character |url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/02/19/billions-non-binary-asia-kate-dillon/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=September 17, 2017 |date=February 19, 2017 |archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428141725/https://ew.com/tv/2017/02/19/billions-non-binary-asia-kate-dillon/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Masters |first=Jeffrey |title=Asia Kate Dillon Talks Discovering the Word Non-Binary: 'I Cried' |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/asia-kate-dillon-talks-discovering-the-word-non-binary_us_58ef1685e4b0156697224c7a |work=[[Huffington Post]] |access-date=September 17, 2017 |date=April 13, 2017 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205012120/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/asia-kate-dillon-talks-discovering-the-word-non-binary_us_58ef1685e4b0156697224c7a |url-status=live }}</ref> Both actor and character use singular ''they''.