I’m not saying you can’t use “they” when referring to a single person; I’m saying that when you do that you haven’t deviated from the simple usage in any way shape or form.
I’m saying there’s no “singular they” because using “they” in that context is just the same as any other usage of “they”. It isn’t any sort of exception to the base rules and so doesn’t require any special treatment.
I think you misunderstood what I’m saying.
I’m not saying you can’t use “they” when referring to a single person; I’m saying that when you do that you haven’t deviated from the simple usage in any way shape or form.
I’m saying there’s no “singular they” because using “they” in that context is just the same as any other usage of “they”. It isn’t any sort of exception to the base rules and so doesn’t require any special treatment.
you did though, it was your first line:
They are saying plural means 1 or many while singular means only 1. So ‘they’ was always plural and plural always included singular.
Sadly dictionary definition says plural does not include 1.
pedantic language nerds on Lemmy? no way!
nm, the rest of the thread is the same… you are not alone.
It’s obvious what I meant from that is the opposite of how you are construing it. You need to actually read the entire comment.
it’s not obvious, sorry. if it were, people would be agreeing with you
Oh, I get what you’re saying.
However, I’m kindly informing you that posting who are professionally pedantic don’t agree with this.
Perhaps I’ve missed a style guide that does agree with you, in which case I would be happy for you to bring the receipts.