their
/ᴛʜâr/
adjective
- Used as a modifier before a noun. their accomplishments; their home town.
- (Usage Problem) His, her, or its.
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › their
THEIR Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
November 4, 2025 - There has meanings that mostly relate to a literal or abstract location ("moving away from there," "there it is," "a friend who's there for you"), while they're is a contraction of "they are" ("when they're ready"). ... Can they, their, theirs, them, themself, and themselves be used to refer to one person?: Usage Guide · Words like everyone, anyone, and someone are typically understood as singular, which means that logically they should be paired with a singular pronoun like him or her.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/grammar › their
r/grammar on Reddit: Their
August 9, 2023 -
Each of the horses has their own food formula, which is carefully worked out by a dietician.
Why is their in this sentence incorrect? Probably just missing something easy.
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"Their" is not incorrect there, because "their" can be used to refer to a single person/animal of unknown/irrelevant gender. However, some style guides/tests/teachers do not accept the use of singular "they" and the associated forms (even though they've been in use for almost 700 years). Whoever is saying "their" is incorrect there will want you to use "its" (one of the 3rd person singular possessives): "Each of the horses has its own food formula." Although "each of" is always followed by a plural noun phrase, it generally takes a singular verb form (note "has") and singular pronouns. However, as mentioned, it is perfectly acceptable to use "they/them/their/theirs" as singular pronouns: https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/25/677177 The use of singular "they" to refer to a person who uses gender-neutral pronouns is more recent, but no less correct.
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So, I think the point here is that "Each of the horses" is a singular subject - the subject is the singular "each," not the plural "horses." But the sentence is fine & correct in colloquial English because "they" is the standard third-person pronoun when you don't know the gender of a person (or animal). I would guess they want you to say "its" instead of "their" to indicate the singular form. But generally in English we call animals he or she, not "it," especially if the animal is a pet or companion. ETA sorry I thought I was in r/EnglishLearning where these questions are usually asked by non-native speakers
Dictionary.com
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THEIR Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
2 weeks ago - Their is the possessive form of the personal pronoun they, essentially meaning belonging to or possessed by them, as in Is that their car, or ours? There is commonly used to introduce sentences or to indicate where something is, as in It’s over there, next to the window.
pronouns - Is it correct to use "their" when referring to a single person when the gender is known? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
I have come accross this sentence: There is a 2.5% probability that whenever we measure a woman, their height will be less than 142 centimeters. Is the use of their correct here? Shouldn't it be ... More on english.stackexchange.com
CMV: Using the pronoun "they/them" is confusing and it should be changed
"You won't believe what my coworker said yesterday" "Oh man, what did they say?" They has been used in a singular form for a while now. It might not be incredibly common, but it shouldn't be as confusing as you are making it out to be. More on reddit.com
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July 19, 2020What do the pronouns 'they/them' mean?
They/them means the person prefers you to refer to them with gender-neutral pronouns. So instead of saying something like "She's on her way, we expect she will arrive soon for her appointment" it would be "They're on their way, we expect they will arrive soon for their appointment". Combinations like she/they or he/they mean that either the gendered pronoun or gender-neutral pronoun are acceptable. In either case it may be because the person identifies as nonbinary; neither a man nor a woman. In the latter case where they accept a gendered pronoun it would be up to the individual whether they're truly neutral between the two, or if they prefer one but tolerate the other. More on reddit.com
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January 29, 2022Why do people use “she/they” or “He/they” as their pronouns?
She/they and he/they are shorthands, usually it means someone is okay with both full pronoun sets. I.E. she/her/hers/herself AND they/them/theirs/themself. More on reddit.com
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October 11, 2023What are the meanings of there, their, and they’re?
As homonyms, the words there, their, and they’re are all pronounced exactly the same but have different and distinct meanings. There means “at that place” and is used to talk about a specific location. Their indicates ownership and is the possessive form of they. Finally, they’re means they are and is a contraction similar to you’re for you are.
grammarly.com
grammarly.com › blog › commonly-confused-words › there-their-theyre
“There” vs. “Their” vs. “They’re”: What’s the ...
When should you use there, their, and they’re?
If you are introducing a sentence or talking about a certain location, the correct word is there. If you are describing a noun that is owned by someone, the correct word is their, which is the third-person possessive form of they. Lastly, if you want to make the two words they and are into one contraction, they’re is a simpler, shorter version.
grammarly.com
grammarly.com › blog › commonly-confused-words › there-their-theyre
“There” vs. “Their” vs. “They’re”: What’s the ...
Example of there, their, and they’re
There isn’t enough room for the suitcases.
Their suitcases are too big.
They’re leaving the suitcases at home.
grammarly.com
grammarly.com › blog › commonly-confused-words › there-their-theyre
“There” vs. “Their” vs. “They’re”: What’s the ...
Videos
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Are THEY and THEIR singular? #englishgrammar #english #learnenglish ...
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There vs Their vs They're – Learn The Difference | English Grammar ...
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Gender Pronouns: Using ‘THEY’, ‘THEIR’, and ‘THEM’ ...
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They, Them, Their as Singular Pronouns - YouTube
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THERE, THEIR & THEY'RE 🤔 | What's the difference? | Learn with ...
09:21
There, Their, They're English Grammar Lesson | What's the Difference?
Grammarly
grammarly.com › blog › commonly-confused-words › there-their-theyre
“There” vs. “Their” vs. “They’re”: What’s the Difference? | Grammarly
June 23, 2023 - The simplest way to remember what’s unique about their is that it denotes possession or ownership. This means that it is most commonly used as a third-person pronoun, describing a noun that is owned by several people.
Scribbr
scribbr.com › home › there, their, they’re | meaning, examples & difference
There, Their, They’re | Meaning, Examples & Difference
September 11, 2023 - Though originally plural, “their” is often used instead of “his or her” in instances where the gender of a person is unknown or irrelevant. This is particularly common in conversation and informal writing, but it’s now also recommended ...
Washington State University
brians.wsu.edu › 2016 › 05 › 25 › they-their-singular
they / their (singular) | Common Errors in English Usage and More | Washington State University
May 25, 2016 - Using the plural pronoun to refer to a single person of unspecified gender is an old and honorable pattern in English, not a newfangled bit of degeneracy or a politically correct plot to avoid sexism (though it often serves the latter purpose).
CBC Kids
cbc.ca › kids › articles › they-them-their-why-some-people-use-these-pronouns-instead-of-he-or-she
They, them, their — why some people use these pronouns instead of he or she | Articles | CBC Kids
Then they might use a gender-neutral pronoun like their, they or them. If you'd like to check out our video about pronouns, just click the above image. Have you heard of the words binary and non-binary?
MLA Style Center
style.mla.org › home › their, there, and they’re: learn the difference
Their, There, and They're: Learn the Difference | MLA Style Center
January 11, 2025 - The form theirs can appear as a possessive pronoun, which functions similarly to the adjective form their to mean “that which belongs to them,” and it is “used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective ...
Grammar Monster
grammar-monster.com › lessons › his_her_their_they_singular_plural.htm
"He/She" or "They"? "His/her" or "Their"?
June 12, 2023 - However, it is safe to label that view as outdated, and all the leading style guides now support a singular "they" or "their." This practice has become so popular that the American Dialect Society voted "they" (as a gender-neutral singular pronoun) as the 2015 Word of the Year.
Quora
quora.com › What-part-of-speech-is-their-and-how-do-I-use-it
What part of speech is 'their' and how do I use it? - Quora
Answer (1 of 17): Pretty sure we call it a possessive subject pronoun, meaning that in is ‘base’ form—i.e., a pro-noun used as a subject, a pronoun in the nominative case—it’s THEY, or I, or he or she or it or you. That’s the subject pronoun. Then there are possessive forms of this pronoun—‘my’ f...
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Singular_they
Singular they - Wikipedia
1 week ago - As of 2020, singular they is the most popular pronoun set used by non-binary people. Approximately 80% consider it appropriate for themselves. The singular they in the meaning "gender-neutral singular pronoun for a known person, as a non-binary ...
Towson University
webapps.towson.edu › ows › pronouns.htm
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns.
Homework.Study.com
homework.study.com › explanation › is-their-a-pronoun.html
Is 'their' a pronoun? | Homework.Study.com
The words 'he', 'she', 'they', ... View this answer · While the word 'their' has similarities with the word 'they', which is a pronoun, 'their' does not act as a pronoun....
LGBTQIA Resource Center
lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu › educated › pronouns-inclusive-language
LGBTQIA Resource Center - Pronouns & Inclusive Language
March 19, 2024 - While we might typically think of “they/them/theirs” as a plural pronoun, we actually use they to refer to an individual all the time without realizing it. When we refer to a person whose gender we do not know, we might use they as the pronoun. “I got a call from the doctor today.” ...
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › us › dictionary › english › their
THEIR | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
1 week ago - We use possessive pronouns in place of a noun: … · There, their or they’re?There, their and they’re are commonly confused in English, as they sound the same. … (Definition of their from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & ...
Butte College
butte.edu › departments › cas › tipsheets › grammar › parts_of_speech.html
The Eight Parts of Speech - TIP Sheets - Butte College
There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.
Langeek
langeek.co › home › grammar › grammar faq › they vs. their
"They" vs. "Their" in the English Grammar | LanGeek
2 weeks ago - Instead of using 'he' or 'she', we can use 'they' to refer to a person whose sex is not mentioned or is unknown. This is called the 'singular they'. Many non-binary people prefer to be called by the pronoun 'they', rather than 'he' or 'she'.
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"Correct" is opinion as English is a natural language, and is therefore off topic.
However, "usual" and "accepted" are measurable and therefore valid questions. My experience suggests that the use of the singular they is spreading at an accelerating rate down this list :
Gender unknown (the doctor I will see tomorrow)
Gender hidden (my partner if I choose to hide their gender)
Gender irrelevant (the doctor I saw yesterday)
Unspecified person of known gender (the woman in question)
Specified person of known gender (my girlfriend)
My experience is that as people are criticised more and more for politically incorrect use of he or she but almost never criticised for they except by pedants, people (especially children) are increasingly using they as it's easier than thinking which is correct.
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"Correct" is a social judgment, not a linguistic one.
The OED has examples of singular their going back to 1382, but there are still people around who think there is something wrong with it.
If you care about being judged by people who think that, then don't use it. The rest of us will carry on using this useful English word with a long history.
Medium
theo-dawson.medium.com › per-vs-their-ive-finally-taken-a-stand-63d0b2e6ae98
“Per” vs. “their”—The case for “per” as our non-gendered pronoun | by Theo Dawson | Medium
February 14, 2025 - I’d probably be willing to continue suffering if there was no alternative to giving up on singular pronouns, but there is a good alternative that’s been around for over 50 years. It’s the person pronouns, which include per, pers, and perself). I prefer the person pronouns over other non-gendered singular pronouns because of their relation to our singular non-gendered noun— person.
Oxford English Dictionary
oed.com › dictionary › their_adj
their, adj. & pron. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
U.S. regional (chiefly southern and south Midland), Caribbean, and in African American use. As possessive pronoun: = their, adj. A.I.1. ... Modifying a noun of action with which their is in objective relation: of, for, or to them.