Grammar Tidbits: Singular “they” is a lot older than you think.

Earlier last month, the Merriam-Webster dictionary announced that 2019’s Word of the Year is “they”. If you haven’t been keeping up with the evolving nature of the English language, it’s easy to wonder why such a commonly used word has been the most search word of the year. (According to the statement¹ put out by the dictionary, the search count for “they” has increased by 313% in the past year alone.)

Even if you’re not the sort to follow the happenings of the language/linguistic world avidly, you might have noticed this usage. You might have seen around people use it. You might have even used it. Or, perhaps somebody has asked you to refer to them by “they/them”.

So, here’s the question: why does “they” have such a history to it? Let’s find out.

How is singular ‘they’ used in language?

The word “they”, which is usually used as a third person plural pronoun, has a history of usage as a singular pronoun. This is because English does not have a gender-neutral singular pronoun that would ideally correspond with indefinite pronouns such as “anybody”, “somebody” or “nobody”.

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