A Conversation for Gender-Free Pronouns - Moved
They are a sailor?
E'dalethni II Started conversation Jun 25, 2002
Surely, if "they" is being used in the singular in such a sentence, the correct conjugation would be "They is a sailor." This would replace the gender specific singular of "He is a sailor."
They are a sailor?
Martin Harper Posted Jun 25, 2002
Nope, singular they still takes plural verbs in most common usage: using singular they with singular verbs is decidedly non-standard. A parallel is polite 'Vouz' in french.
In practice, the problem would normally be solved by simply not using that form of words. Instead one might say: 'they have a job with the royal navy' or even 'they sail for a living'. But it is a stumbling block, and another good reason to use 'sie' and 'hir' instead.
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They are a sailor?
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