They, them, their for singular nouns

Transcript:

Today we look at how and when we use they, them and their as pronouns for singular nouns. In English grammar we call this the epicene “they” and it has been in use since 1375.

They, them and their are often used as pronouns to refer to certain singular nouns or to refer to indefinite pronouns. We do this when those words cannot be defined simply as he or she because we don’t know the gender of the subject and it would be horrible to use “it” because we are speaking of a person.

Let’s look at some practical examples:

• There is someone at the door. Please ask them what they want. We don’t know if that someone is a male or female, so we cannot say only he or only she, and it would be terrible to use it, so we use they/them. If you use he in this case as the pronoun and you say “There is someone at the door. Please ask him what he wants”, then your grammar will be perceived as wrong, sexist, and medieval.
• When a person talks too much, they learn little.
• Nobody in their right mind would do something so silly.
• Everyone has told me that they think I made the right decision.
• We need a manager who is generally flexible in their approach.
• A person can’t choose where they are born.

Please note that in these cases the verb agrees with the they pronoun:

• what they want (not “what they wants”)
• they think (not “they thinks”)
• they are born (not “they is born”)

It is possible to substitute the epicene “they” pronoun with nouns, but this is not always recommended because it often makes the reading heavy and repetitive. For instance:

• There is someone at the door. Please ask them what they want = There is someone at the door. Please ask him or her what he or she wants.
• When a person talks too much, they learn little = When a person talks too much, that person learns little.

In some cases a plural subject noun can be inserted instead of the epicene “they” pronoun with little or no change to the meaning of the sentence:

• When a client comes into my office I try to understand what services they need = When clients come into my office I try to understand what services they need.

Furthermore, gender non-conforming people may use ‘they’ ‘them’ and ‘theirs’ as personal pronouns. ‘They’ is a gender-neutral pronoun, compared to pronouns like ‘he/him’ or ‘she/her’ which are gendered terms. If someone tells us that they would like they/them/their to be used when referring to them in the third person, we do so. For example:

• Michael has exceeded their targets this year. They plan to apply for a promotion soon.

Remember: when we speak TO people in the second person who use they/them/their pronouns we use you:

• Hi Michael! How are you today?

When we speak ABOUT people in the third person who use they/them/their pronouns we use they/them/their:

• Michael said they were feeling well today.

Easy.

Thank you very much and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your Legal English!

See more on the epicene “they” here: A brief history of singular ‘they’.

Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni

• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 50 – Executive and Non-Executive Directors
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 49 – Transfer of shares vs transmission of shares
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 48 – They, them, their for singular nouns
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 47 – Jointly and severally
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 46 – Invoice words
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 45 – Quotation
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 44 – Gazumping and Gazundering
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 43 – English words that the English do not understand
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 42 – Easement vs Profit à prendre
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 41 -er, -or and -ee names
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 40 – The Objects Clause
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 4 – Memorandum of Association vs Articles of Association
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 3 – Sign legibly
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 2 – Deed poll
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 1 – Party, counterparty and counterpart

Peter Liebenberg

Peter Liebenberg è uno specialista nella formazione delle persone nella conoscenza della lingua inglese. Ha creato molti corsi nel campo dell’inglese per professionisti, tra cui English for banking, English for business e English for Insurance, ma ha sempre avuto un debole per l’inglese legale. Altri corsi che ha creato comprendono Phrasal Verbs I e II. Quando Peter non fa formazione, corre a Parco Sempione, crea arte nel suo studio sulla Martesana e fa volontariato.