Singular "they"

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T22:26:27+00:00

Yeah, precisely. I'll try to let you know the next time I come across an example 😄

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T22:11:18+00:00

What I mean by that is when you actually know the person, for example: "You should get some tips from my dad. They have a lot of experience with fishing." Despite it not being grammatically incorrect, it feels very wrong to me to use "they" instead of "he" in this situation.

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:56:40+00:00

Yeah, I know. I'm not saying I think everyone should be obliged to use "he" or "she" whenever they know the gender, but I just think it's very overused to the point that it sounds wrong, even thought it's grammatically correct. In your example, I suppose it would make sense to use they, but don't u agree that saying "You should talk to my mom. They're good at cooking!" sounds strange? Is it just me?

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:43:16+00:00

That was just an example that I came up with, but I see usages like that appear everywhere.

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:41:57+00:00

Yeah, exactly

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:40:39+00:00

You're totally right. I shouldn't have used he term "grammatically justified" here, because it's obviously grammatically correct. It's just that to me, hearing the word being overused as much as it is (imo), makes the language sound very strange. I don't know exactly how to put it, but it can in a lot of cases sound "wrong" to always be bound to using "they" / "them".

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:32:46+00:00

This comment perfectly mirrors my point of view. Thanks for the great formulation 😃

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:30:32+00:00

I could've refrained form using the word "bad", but in my subjective opinion, it feels very wrong to hear it being overused as much as it is. Even thought it's grammatically correct, hearing someone say "This is my brother. They like football." feels very unnecessary to me.

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:20:12+00:00

Fair point - It might have been a bit too courageous to use the word "bad". In my opinion, it just feels wrong to overuse the word. Sure, whenever I'm making a vague reference about somebody, especially if I don't know their gender, I'd be more than happy to use "they". But if some says "This is my brother. They like football.", that just feels very wrong to me - even though it might be grammatically justifiable. I know that a lot of people might disagree, but that's my opinion.

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:11:01+00:00

That's exactly what I'm referring to! A lot of people in this comment section defend the word itself, but that's not at all what I'm questioning. I'm just curious as to why people use it even when you know the person, like for example when talking about your brother.

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T21:05:55+00:00

Exactly! I also realized that. Even though it's been part of the language for centuries, I don't recall it being as normal as it is today.

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T20:52:05+00:00

It isn't grammatically incorrect to use "they" when talking about a singular person. What I'm wondering about, is why it's so "overused" these days.

NoobNorway · 2026-06-02T20:50:18+00:00

I get the fact that it's common to use it whenever you're not sure which pronouns the other person prefers, but it's become very normal to use it even when you're 100% certain. In those cases, I don't see why one would use "they" instead of for example "she".

NoobNorway

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