third person
He, she, they
Third person is the grammatical perspective referring to someone or something being spoken about rather than speaking or being addressed.
In English, third person pronouns include he, she, it, and they.
Fiction written in third person describes characters from outside: She walked into the room and noticed the letter.
In grammar, third person verb forms match these pronouns: he runs, they run.
Male subject pronoun
singular · plural · conjugation · nominative · accusative · possessive · reflexive · gender-neutral
Unlimited in awareness
- limitedRestricted in extent
- point of viewOne's particular outlook
- narratorOne who tells events
- perspectiveAttitude or spatial rendering
storytelling · voice · unreliable narrator · fly-on-the-wall · focalization
Unverified secondhand information
- hearsay evidenceUnverified reported statements
- secondhandHaving had prior ownership
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- inadmissibleNot allowed as evidence
witness statement · indirect evidence · declaration · affidavit · deposition
he
Male subject pronoun
pronouns · singular · plural · conjugation · nominative · accusative · possessive · reflexive · gender-neutral · masculine
omniscient
Unlimited in awareness
- limitedRestricted in extent
- point of viewOne's particular outlook
- narratorOne who tells events
perspective · storytelling · voice · unreliable narrator · fly-on-the-wall · focalization
hearsay
Unverified secondhand information
- hearsay evidenceUnverified reported statements
- secondhandHaving had prior ownership
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
inadmissible · witness statement · indirect evidence · declaration · affidavit · deposition
outsider
One excluded from group
onlooker · neutral party · intermediary · mediator · go-between
- camera angleshigh angle, low angle, eye level, bird's eye view, worm's eye view
- narrationvoice-over, narrator, telling, POV, point of view
- Narratorsstoryteller, omniscient, unreliable narrator, voice-over, chronicler
- prose craftstyle, diction, word choice, pacing, narration
- Caesar's WritingLatin, Gallic Wars, clarity, brevity
- inflectionsinflections, plurals, conjugations, declensions, verb forms
third personfirst person
Grammatical self-reference perspective
second person · I · you · we · me
third personstream of consciousness
Narrative mimicking uninterrupted thought
epistolary · first person · first person narrative · first-person narration · interior monologue
third personfirsthand
Without intermediary
direct experience · personal experience · eyewitness · lived experience · subjective
person, personal, third, personality, persons, thirds, impersonal, personable, personify