they

Not we, but

You use they to designate multiple people or things that you have already referred to with a noun or nouns: The students wrote reports about the field trip they went on.

In modern speech, they is also often used to refer back to an indefinite singular pronoun such as whoever, someone, or anybody to avoid the problem of appearing to be sexist by using he or she, and to avoid the awkwardness of using he/she: If anyone wants the extra tickets they should call me.

plural

group

Assembled collection of things

peopleHumans as a group
othersDifferent people, things
crowdLarge public gathering

team · those · individuals · persons · folks · community · collective · assembly · multitude · gathering

singular

generic

Not brand-name

epiceneOf indeterminate gender
antecedentSomething that precedes
referentWhat a term designates

anaphora · agreement · indefinite · someone · anyone · everyone · each · person · individual · whoever

inclusive

gender-neutral

Without sex distinction

nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
genderqueerOutside the two-category system
transgenderGender differs from assignment

agender · genderfluid · affirming · neopronouns · identity · LGBTQIA+ · queer · two-spirit · intersex · androgyne

grammatical

pronoun

Noun's grammatical replacement

subjectMatter under discussion
third-personGrammatical category for others
nominativeCase marking sentence subjects

case · conjugation · syntax · usage · prescriptive · descriptive · evolution · linguistic

othering

outsiders

Those not belonging

strangersPeople unknown to you
foreignersPeople from elsewhere
opponentsThose who compete against

enemies · establishment · authorities · powers-that-be · mainstream · elite · insiders · gatekeepers · bureaucrats · politicians

Categories

TH Wordsthe, this, that, then, there
gendergender, male, female, masculine, feminine
pronounsI, me, him, he, my
function wordsa, an, the, and, or
gender languagemasculine, feminine, neuter, he, she
gender-neutralMx., ze, em, neopronouns, nonbinary

Opposites

number/plurality

theyhe

Male subject pronoun

she · it · one · he or she

person (grammatical)

theywe

not just me

I · you

in-group vs. out-group

theywe

not just me

Phrases

they sayVague source attribution
let them have itAttack without restraint
as they sayCiting common expression
gave their lives
so they sayIndicating unverified hearsay
put someone in their placeAssert superiority over another

Family

them, their, theirs, themselves, thee, themself

Familiarity: Top 100
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G