It's indeed useful to distinguish singular you from plural you, which is somethi...

tmtvl · 2024-12-19T13:35:02 1734615302

I thought 'they' is always plural? I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they.

coldpie · 2024-12-19T13:45:41 1734615941

> I thought 'they' is always plural?

You see someone two blocks away doing something unusual and say, "what are they doing?"

alistairSH · 2024-12-19T13:52:32 1734616352

Only if you can't determine gender. Otherwise, you'd be "what is she/he doing?"

It's usually clear from context. How often do you look two blocks away and see a group of unrelated individuals doing different things to the point "what are they doing" is unclear? Can't say I've ever run into that in my 48 years.

coldpie · 2024-12-19T13:56:23 1734616583

> Only if you can't determine gender

Sure, that's why I said 2 blocks away. The point is "they" is not exclusively used for plural, which was the claim I was replying to.

ted_bunny · 2024-12-19T17:27:46 1734629266

They also refers to the abstract "one."

jadyoyster · 2024-12-19T14:04:01 1734617041

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they

You might just not notice it.

alistairSH · 2024-12-19T14:39:07 1734619147

Oh, I know singular they is used/exists. I'm only pointing out that there is more precise language available most of the time, should it be needed - either she/he or adding details elsewhere in the conversation.

modestygrime · 2024-12-19T13:38:36 1734615516

They can refer to a single person.