When using nonbinary Surname, use the most familiar-sounding verb. “They are” is still the correct choice when referring to a person, rather than “they are.”
When someone tells you that their pronoun is Surname And Surnamethat means instead of treating the person as he / he or she/sheyou are being asked to call the person last name / last name.
Simple enough, right?
Well, yeah, except that if you’re not familiar with the usage, you might be wondering what kind of verb goes with that pronoun: is it “they’re my friends” or “they’re my friends”?
The simple answer is that the most natural-sounding verb is the verb to use. Surname always go with a plural verb, even if Surname referring to a single person: “They are my friends.”
Same goes for other verbs: “They play baseball.”
Singular ‘They’ (Is)
This is natural for native English speakers with older singular usage. Surname:
If someone calls, tell them I’ll be back soon.
Contest winners will be notified that they have won prior to the public announcement.
In these cases, the identity of the person referred to Surname or Surname is unknown or unspecified. But we also use plural verbs when the person’s identity is not revealed:
The contest winners’ identities are currently being kept secret, but we can tell you they’re excited.
And that’s with nonbinary Surname:
Jay won the contest and they were so excited!
Your refusal, you and you
It may take some getting used to, but English speakers have passed through the area before. from Friend originally just a plural pronoun. When people were speaking Old English, it was used as the object of the verb, as in “I miss you (both),” while you is the subject of the verb, as in “Ye (both) were in my class.” their singular counterpart is you And you: “I gave you high marks”; “You gave me a high five.”
In the mid-13th century, these plural forms began to be used for a person, usually a superior, as a sign of respect or esteem:
Ye sat in front of me during homeroom.
I sat behind you in homeroom.
We don’t know why Friend And you begin to take territory that already belongs to you And you, their long-time singular opposites, but it seems that the French use of plural pronouns in a formal context has something to do with it, as does the British use of the pronoun royal” we”. Whatever the reason, the use of Friend And you to only one person to spread. After about 300 years, in the middle of the 16th century, you begins to fade with use, and Friend was applied in both subject and object positions (i.e. in both nominative and accusative cases). Queen Elizabeth I is a notable proponent; written in the 16th century, she only used Friend in her correspondence.
In the early 17th century, the typical English speaker would use you And you intended only for a person to be intimately close to, or to show deliberate disrespect.
English speakers acknowledge this loss you And youand they originally modified the verb they used with Friend by number: they will say “you are my friend” to one person and “you are my friend” to many people. But by the 18th century, the practice fell out of favor and was practically abandoned. Since then, we have said “you are my friend” to individuals and many people.
English speakers rarely think about how weird it is for us to say “I am” and “we are”, but say “you are” no matter how many people there are. Friend are referring to. It is likely that “they are” to a single non-binary person will not stand out similarly in the future.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
