Using “they” for a singular person has been used since at least the 14th century, so there’s no need to feel uncomfortable with it. I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia page on Singular they, which touches on its history.
A similar example is “you.” “You” used to be only a plural, with “thou” being the singular, but over time it fell out of fashion and now “you” can be used as singular or plural, like how “they” can be singular or plural.
Singular “they” was criticised by some people hundreds of years after it started being used. But language cannot be prescribed; it is determined by how people use it.
Oh, thank you for the info, but when i said that I am uncomfortable with that pronoun, i said it in the sense “I’m not used to this pronoun and don’t know how to use it properly”.
If I understood well, it can be used like he-his, she-her, they-theirs? I gotta use gender neutral pronouns more often. Sounds better than “it-its”
Yep, they/them/theirs is used in the same place as he/him/his or she/her/hers. It/it/its should not be used for people unless someone explicitly says those are their preferred pronouns. “It” is typically used for objects and non-human animals, so it could be seen as rude to refer to a human as “it.” If unsure, use they/them.
Using “they” for a singular person has been used since at least the 14th century, so there’s no need to feel uncomfortable with it. I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia page on Singular they, which touches on its history.
A similar example is “you.” “You” used to be only a plural, with “thou” being the singular, but over time it fell out of fashion and now “you” can be used as singular or plural, like how “they” can be singular or plural.
Singular “they” was criticised by some people hundreds of years after it started being used. But language cannot be prescribed; it is determined by how people use it.
Oh, thank you for the info, but when i said that I am uncomfortable with that pronoun, i said it in the sense “I’m not used to this pronoun and don’t know how to use it properly”.
If I understood well, it can be used like he-his, she-her, they-theirs? I gotta use gender neutral pronouns more often. Sounds better than “it-its”
Oh that makes sense, sorry I misunderstood!
Yep, they/them/theirs is used in the same place as he/him/his or she/her/hers. It/it/its should not be used for people unless someone explicitly says those are their preferred pronouns. “It” is typically used for objects and non-human animals, so it could be seen as rude to refer to a human as “it.” If unsure, use they/them.