The Singular “They”

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

I took the twins to the Doctor for their vaccinations this morning.

________________________________________________________________________________

A few weeks ago, linguistics expert John McWhorter wrote a lively article for the New York Times in favor of a change that’s coming to the English language. The singular “they” is increasingly being accepted, even by professional writers.

Here’s an example: “If anyone lost a brown leather wallet, they can claim it in Mr. Nichols’ office.” When I was in high school, I was taught that “they” is wrong. The sentence has to be written this way: “If anyone lost a brown leather wallet, he or she can claim it in Mr. Nichols’ office.”

I’m glad McWhorter is supporting the singular “they.” It’s easy, it’s natural, and it makes sense. But his article prompted a torrent of panicky letters to the Times, and I think this whole controversy is unnecessary. Below is a letter I just sent to McWhorter:

Dear John McWhorter,

I love your columns (and everything you write!). But why – oh why – are you presenting the singular “they” as something new?

It’s been around since 1375. It was standard English until the late 1700s. That’s when Lindley Murray (who didn’t even have a linguistics background) took it upon himself to try to make English more mathematical.

Jane Austen used the singular “they” 75 times in Pride and Prejudice. Henry Higgins (a stickler if there ever was one) used it in Shaw’s 1914 play Pygmalion: “To do someone in means to kill them” (Act III).

Shakespeare used the singular “they” in A Comedy of Errors:

There’s not a man I meet but doth salute me
As if I were their well-acquainted friend (Act IV, Scene III)

I was disheartened reading the letters in Sunday’s Times. The sky is falling! No, it isn’t. We’re losing clarity! No, we’re not.

Here’s an analogy. Numerous grammarians (Robert Lowth, George Fox, and later our friend Lindley Murray) predicted the death of English in the 17th century when the singular you are began to take hold: “Joe, you are a wonderful friend.” (Correct grammar back then was “Thou art a wonderful friend.)

What’s unclear about “you are a wonderful friend”? Beats me! Nobody – not even the strictest grammarian – worries about using “are” (instead of “is” or “art) to speak to one person today. English survived – despite dire warnings from the grammarians.

The history of English has been thoroughly documented. It can help lay to rest many of our anxieties about linguistic change. Let’s not get hysterical about a change that happened more than 700 years ago.

Sincerely,
Jean Reynolds

(To read McWhorter’s column about the singular “they,” click here. To read the letters to the Times, click here.)

                               John McWhorter

________________________________________________________________________________

Instant Quiz ANSWER

Don’t capitalize jobs, careers, and roles (doctor, nurse, manager, pilot) unless they’re part of a name: Nurse Hawkins, for example.

I took the twins to the doctor for their vaccinations this morning.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go