"They" can be singular. The problem is "they" isn't a real pronoun when used that way. It's used as a substitute for when the proper pronoun isn't known because it's ambiguous. The ambiguity causes problems and is why it should never be used except as a last resort.
Yes, I know about "he or she", but it sounds so fucking stupid. I can't do it.
I usually do. I use "they" mostly when talking about a theoretical person. Like "if you were at a store and the person at the checkout accidentally forgot to scan an item, would you say something to them"?
I'm not sure why, it just seems more correct to me.
Imp would actually be correct in pointing out the cause, there. Both are equally correct, and have been for the last few centuries, but feminists in education have been pushing a preference for They for a few decades.
"They" can be singular. The problem is "they" isn't a real pronoun when used that way. It's used as a substitute for when the proper pronoun isn't known because it's ambiguous. The ambiguity causes problems and is why it should never be used except as a last resort.
Yes, I know about "he or she", but it sounds so fucking stupid. I can't do it.
You can also use He as a substitute for an unknown individual.
I usually do. I use "they" mostly when talking about a theoretical person. Like "if you were at a store and the person at the checkout accidentally forgot to scan an item, would you say something to them"?
I'm not sure why, it just seems more correct to me.
Imp would actually be correct in pointing out the cause, there. Both are equally correct, and have been for the last few centuries, but feminists in education have been pushing a preference for They for a few decades.
When I was in school they were pushing "he or she"/"him or her". But that was also quite a while ago.