They as in "what they said"
this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2023
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English As a Second Language
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All things for those who use the English language but still there's a lot to learn.
Please follow the instance's guidelines and keep on-topic. Any level of question is welcome, either from a beginner or from an almost-native speaker.
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For instance I want to say someone is bad to a person. If I know he is a male, then I can say He is a bad person. But with your example, I should say they are bad person or what? It looks plural.
Yeah exactly. They can be plural when referring to more than one person or singular when referring to just one.
But for some reason the verb stays plural... you don't say "They is a bad person".
Because English!
Hmmm interesting. Can/should I use a/an with this like they are a bad person? My English teacher would beat me for this lol
You use "an" when the word after sounds like it starts with a vowel. "They are a bad person" is correct, "They are aN awesome person" is correct.
English is dumb.
That's also fine
I’d say you have to use a, no?
Yes
It can feel a little clunky, but I do this all the time when typing online. Particularly on discord or somewhere where I have no idea of a members gender.
"I first noticed this member join our server a week ago but they have not posted a lot. The few posts that they have made show that they are interested in the game, but I think they are looking for a different experience. I wish them well in their search for a different group."
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