Friday, August 24, 2018

grammatical number - Should a noun following "singular they" be singular or plural?



I've understood how to use singular they on a single sentence, but the problem comes with articulated sentences like this one:




If a person lies to you this way, they are probably thieves.




My doubt is about its correctness, I would also say it this way:





If a person lies to you this way, they are probably a thief.




Is the second sentence correct?


Answer



Try:




If {a person / someone} lies to you like this, they are probably a thief. [Singular subject]




If people lie to you like this, they're probably thieves. [Plural subject]



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