this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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... you've not heard of singular they, a pronoun used in english by Shakespear himself, that existed before singular you?
"Oh, somebody forgot their jacket" has existed since forever.
See my other comments in this thread as well, but using singular they to refer to a specific, known individual was never something that Shakespeare did, and that is the usage that people are up in arms about. Your example uses singular they to refer to an unknown person, which is a usage that's been around for centuries, yes.
We've always used singular "they" to refer to someone of an unknown gender.
Sure, I think we agree?