# they

Pronunciation: say "THAY" /ðeɪ/

## Pronoun

1. The people, animals or things just mentioned or understood, used as the subject of a verb.
   - Simple: Used as the subject of a verb for people, animals or things already mentioned or understood.
   - _My parents called to say they would be late._
   - _The neighbors waved as they drove off on their summer vacation._
2. One person whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or non-binary, used as the subject and taking a plural verb.
   - Simple: Used for one person whose gender is unknown or does not matter, or who goes by 'they' rather than 'he' or 'she'.
   - _Someone left an umbrella here, so I hope they come back for it._
   - _Alex says they will bring their own laptop._
3. People in general, or an unnamed group such as the authorities, not including the speaker.
   - Simple: People in general, or an unnamed group such as those in charge, not including the speaker.
   - _They don't make cars like they used to._
   - _If you drink and drive, they will take away your license._
6. There, especially as the empty subject of 'be' in sentences saying that something exists. *(dialectal, US)*
   - Simple: In some US dialects, used instead of 'there' to say that something exists.
   - _They ain't no reason to shout._
   - _Is they any coffee left?_

## Verb

4. To refer to someone with the pronouns they and them, especially someone who uses 'he' or 'she'.
   - Simple: To call someone 'they' instead of 'he' or 'she' when talking about them.
   - _Nobody should they a person who has clearly stated other pronouns._
   - _She was annoyed at being theyed in the article after clearly stating her pronouns._

## Determiner

5. In US dialects, including African-American Vernacular English, used as the possessive determiner 'their' before a noun. *(dialectal, US)*
   - Simple: In some US dialects, used instead of 'their' before a noun.
   - _Every one of them thinks they own house is the best._
   - _The boys left they bikes out in the rain._
7. The or those, used before a noun. *(dialectal, Southern England)*
   - Simple: In some English country dialects, used before a noun to mean 'those'.
   - _Fetch me they buckets from the barn before it gets dark._
   - _He spent all morning down by they sheds._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5, 7** — From Middle English "þei", borrowed around 1200 from Old Norse "þeir", the plural of the demonstrative "sá" used as a pronoun. It displaced the native Middle English "he" (from Old English "hīe"), which sound changes had made hard to tell apart from "he", by the 1400s, fitting easily alongside native words beginning with the same sound like "the", "that", and "this". It has been used as a singular pronoun since the 1300s. The Norse word comes from Proto-Germanic "*þai" ("those"), from Proto-Indo-European "*to-" ("that").
**Meaning 6** — From an earlier form "the'e", from "there".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/they (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).