Why is this sentence's grammar correct In the Collins Dictionary, the explanation for the word ingratiate&nbsp;is:If someone&nbsp;tries&nbsp;to&nbsp;ingratiate&nbsp;themselves with&nbsp;you, they do t

shawn zhang

Why is this sentence's grammar correct

In the Collins Dictionary, the explanation for the word ingratiate is:

If someone <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/try" title="Definition of tries" class="ref type-def" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; color: inherit; background-color: rgb(193, 230, 198);">tries</a> to ingratiate themselves with you, they do things to try and make you <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/like_1" title="Definition of like" class="ref type-def" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; color: inherit; background-color: rgb(193, 230, 198);">like </a>them. (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ingratiate)

As I know 'someone' is singular, and this makes 'try' become 'tries'. but why is the latter 'themselves'?

2018年11月15日 06:25

评论 · 7

Good question, Shawn. It’s "singular-they". More and more, native speakers prefer to use “they” instead of a gender-specific singular pronoun, where the gender is irrelevant (or inconvenient to mention). There are still some people who object to singular-they, but in my opinion, it’s fine for conversation and casual writing. The particular example you’ve cited strikes me as problematic however, since “themselves” is so obviously plural. Personally, I use the word “themself” as the reflexive pronoun of singular-they, but this word has not yet been accepted in most dictionaries. So, technically, the word “themselves” exists (even though it’s hard to justify its use in the singular), and “themself” does not. My advice to students is to avoid the issue by using the plural whenever possible, thus:

If people try to ingratiate themselves with you, they do things to try and make you like them.

2018年11月15日

Phil, that's a good point! I didn't consider yourself vs. yourselves. You're right it's actually the same thing. Convinced! :)

2018年11月16日

Let's keep in mind that “they” is not the only plural pronoun to be used in the singular. The word “you” (nominative “ye”) was originally the plural of “thee” (nominative “thou”). “You” came to be used in both singular (originally as a sign of respect, like French “vous”) and plural. Today, we have two reflexive forms: “yourself” for the singular and “yourselves” for the plural. Nobody says “yourselves” when talking to just one person. If we have “yourself” for singular “you”, then why not “themself” for singular “they”?

Note: Singular “they” has been in use for many generations. I’ve just checked Merriam-Webster, and they say it’s been over 500 years. The article also gives an example of “themself” used by Emily Dickinson in 1881. Oddly enough, the same dictionary doesn’t seem to include the word “themself”. Likewise, the Collins Dictionary used singular “they” (a bit awkwardly, IMHO), but also fails to include an entry for “themself”.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they

2018年11月16日