You have been taught that they, them and their are all plural pronouns. This is correct! But there are some instances where we use these as singular pronouns.

Singular Indefinite Person

In the past, when referring to a single person whose gender was unknown, people said things like he or she, which feels a bit clumsy! Or they used the masculine he, him or his, which these days is not acceptable.

There are a lot of words that might show that we don’t know the person’s gender. To be general we can say a person or no person, a child or no child. It’s a bit formal – you would be more likely to see these in writing.

Examples
A person who is used to their own company, may not enjoy having visitors.
No child should have to grow up without their parents.

Other common general words we can use with a singular they/them or their are: anyone/anybody, someone/somebody, no one/nobody, whoever, each, every, either and neither. We do, however, need to use a plural be verb.

Examples
Every teenager believes that they are special.
The thief, whoever they are, needs to turn themselves in!
If anyone calls, take their name and phone number and I’ll call them back.
Somebody parked their car in a disabled space. Could they please move it?

Secret Gender

We can also use they/them/their if we do know the gender of a particular person but don’t want to reveal it!

Example
I have a friend who lives in Spain. I love visiting them in summer.

Gender Identities

The final way we can use these pronouns is a more modern one. More and more people do not identify as either male or female. There are many different gender identities.

Someone might prefer that others talk about them using the pronouns they/them/their. But, it’s always good to check as we can’t just assume!

Comments and questions can be left under the video on YouTube.

Until next time!