學校教英文時，大多時候會告訴我們they是複數，指「他們」，這是對的！但是在不知道性別的情況下，they也可用作第三人稱單數使用。事實上從十四世紀開始，英語母語人士便將they當作性別中立的單數人稱代名詞了。在此提供例句：After a student completes their coursework, they take an exam. 還有：Who is on the phone? What do they want?
由於來電者性別不明，美國人便會很自然地用they當作單數人稱代名詞，在口語上特別常見。換作正式文件，可把整個句子改為複數：Students take exams after completing their coursework. 或更正式一點說：Who is on the phone? What does the caller want?
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In school, most English learners that the pronoun "they" refers to more than one person (in the plural), and that's correct! But, "they" can also be used to refer to a third person in the singular if the gender of the person is unknown. In fact, English speakers have used "they" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun since the 14th century.
Here's an example: "After a student completes their coursework, they take an exam." Or, as another example, "Who is on the phone? What do they want?" The gender of this student or caller is unknown, so an American English speaker will naturally use the singular pronoun "they," especially when speaking. If writing a formal document, they might get around this by editing the sentence to the plural, as in "Students take exams after completing their coursework," or by changing to a more formal register, as in "Who is on the phone? What does the caller want?"
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