Singular they

It is correct.

Cambridge
their: determiner

A1
of or belonging to them:
He gave them their coats.

B1 used to refer to one person in order to avoid saying "his or her":
One of the students has left their book behind.

Singular they enjoys a long history of usage in English and can be used here: "Each student should save their questions until the end."

However, “singular they” also enjoys a long history of criticism. If you are anxious about being criticized (for what is in fact a perfectly grammatical construction) I would advise rewording to avoid having to use a gender-neutral singular third-person pronoun.

Some rewording strategies that can be employed:

• Use a plural noun: Students should save their questions until the end.
• Use the formal one: One should save one's questions until the end.
• Use his or her: Each student should save his or her questions until the end

Update 2025-09-23

Given recent interest in this answer, I thought I would compile all the unanswered items from the comments and elsewhere into "nohat's FAQ about singular they":

1) What do we mean by “singular they”?

There are two distinct uses:

• Indefinite/generic: refers to an unknown or irrelevant-gender person. Each student should save their questions until the end.
• Personal/pronominal: refers to a specific person who uses they/them pronouns. Alex said they’ll present next.

These uses solve different problems: generic reference vs. respecting an individual’s pronouns.

2) Is singular they grammatical?

Yes. It has centuries of attested use in edited English and aligns with how English handles agreement (often semantic, not purely morphological). English already tolerates number “mismatches” where meaning demands it (e.g., the government are… in BrE; you are for a single addressee). With singular they, the antecedent is logically singular, but the pronoun uses the established they are/them/their paradigm—just as you are does.

3) “Isn’t it ambiguous?”

Sometimes, but as I wrote in a comment below, "ambiguity in a language is one of its core sources of expressive richness, not a measure of its defectiveness". Singular they offers economy and flexibility by letting writers leave gender unspecified when it’s not salient. It fills a pragmatic niche not otherwise available, enabling certain kinds of politeness, indirection, and inclusivity. In practice, readers resolve reference from context as they already do with you, this, ellipsis, etc.

4) “Won’t ESL/EFL learners struggle with this?”

It must be taught, and it is taught. Mainstream ESL/EAP curricula, teacher guides, learner dictionaries, and university writing programs now explicitly teach singular they (both generic and personal). Learners manage it for the same reason they manage other English quirks: its frequent use combined with clear classroom framing and authentic input from native speakers.

5) “themself” or “themselves”?

Both occur. In generic use, many editors still prefer themselves. For a specific nonbinary person, themself is increasingly used to signal singular reference. Follow house style or the person’s stated preference. I like themself quite a bit, but I like to play with language.

6) How does singular they compare to the alternatives?

• Pluralize: Students should save their questions… — Crisp and widely preferred in formal prose when it doesn’t change the meaning.
• Repeat the noun: Each student should save the student’s question… — Precise, but sounds stilted.
• “his or her”: now often avoided (clunky; excludes many readers).
• “one/one’s”: formal and impersonal; fine in certain, typically formal registers.
• Voice shift: Questions should be saved until the end. — Smooth when agency isn’t the point.

I would suggest these when the genre or audience (or legal/technical constraints) demand precision that singular they doesn't offer.

7) “Isn’t this political?”

Language change often tracks social reality, but the linguistic facts are independent.

• Generic use fixes a long-standing gap (a natural epicene third-person singular).
• Personal use matches individual identity—like names and titles, it’s a matter of correct reference.

8) When should I avoid singular they?

• Controlled languages e.g. aviation, specs, contracts where prescribed phrasing constraints apply.
• Mixed-proficiency audiences where you anticipate comprehension costs. In those cases, I'd prefer pluralization or impersonal rewrites. I think of it as an element of audience design.

9) Does it ever change the meaning?

Occasionally. Pluralizing can shift scope or emphasis:

• Each student must submit their own work (individual obligation) vs. Students must submit their own work (can read as group policy; still usually fine). If distributivity matters, keep each/every + they or rephrase explicitly.

10) What about style guides?

Contemporary major guides and academic styles (and many newsroom/institutional guides) permit or endorse singular they in at least generic use and often for personal use. My recommendation is to treat singular they as acceptable by default.

11) Stock replies to common objections

• “It’s ungrammatical.” It’s long-attested and follows English’s semantic agreement patterns; major references now include it.
• “It’s ambiguous.” So are you and this. English manages ambiguity with context; use rewrites when precision is critical.
• “Learners will be confused.” Learners are taught it; provide examples and, where needed, offer a plural or impersonal alternative.
• “Use ‘his or her’ instead.” Clunky and not inclusive. Contemporary writing typically avoids it for these reasons.

OED References for “singular” they

Here for the benefit of those who lack access to its paywalled source are the full and complete operative senses from the Oxford English Dictionary. Per the OED the pronoun they has these specific subsenses for the various scenarios under discussion here:

2. In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun.

^{Use of they to refer to a singular antecedent has sometimes been considered erroneous.}

Dennis Baron • A brief history of singular ‘they’

…But that’s nothing new. The Oxford English Dictionary traces singular they back to 1375, where it appears in the medieval romance William and the Werewolf. Except for the old-style language of that poem, its use of singular they to refer to an unnamed person seems very modern. Here’s the Middle English version: ‘Hastely hiȝed eche … þei neyȝþed so neiȝh… þere william & his worþi lef were liand i-fere.’ In modern English, that’s: ‘Each man hurried… till they drew near… where William and his darling were lying together.’…

^{[4 September 2018]}

• 2a. With an antecedent that is grammatically singular, but refers collectively to the members of a group, or has universal reference (e.g. each person, everyone, nobody).

^{Sometimes, but not always, used to avoid having to specify the gender(s) of the individual(s) being referred to; cf. sense A. 2b.}

[[citations ranging from 1350–2014 omitted]]

• 2b. With an antecedent referring to an individual generically or indefinitely (e.g. someone, a person, the student), used esp. so as to make a general reference to such an individual without specifying gender. Cf. ʜᴇ pron. 2b.

^{In the 21st century, other th– pronouns (and the possessive adjective their) are sometimes used to refer to a named individual, so as to avoid revealing or making an assumption about that person’s gender; cf. sense A. 2c, and quots. 2008 at ᴛʜᴇɪʀ adj. 2b, 2009 at ᴛʜᴇᴍ pron. 4b, 2009 at ᴛʜᴇᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ pron. 2b.}

[[citations ranging from 1450–2010 omitted]]

• 2c. Used with reference to a person whose sense of personal identity does not correspond to conventional sex and gender distinctions, and who has typically asked to be referred to as they (rather than as he or she).

[[citations ranging from 2009–2019 omitted]]

^{Copyright 2019 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.}

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