There is a lot of talk about plural pronouns lately. Some people are using plural pronouns like they, their, their, theirs, and others are using singular pronouns like their. Some people are getting a little upset at the other side for using plural pronouns. The difference is simple. Using singular pronouns means you are using the word without changing it to plural. Using plural pronouns like they, their, their, or others means you are changing the word to plural.
The issue is whether to use singular or plural pronouns depends on how you use them. If you use singular pronouns, you are changing the word to singular. If you use plural pronouns, you are using the word without changing it to plural. There are many cases where you use singular and plural pronouns interchangeably, but that’s one of them.
In the context of sentences like “I am currently writing about my self-awareness”, if you are writing about yourself, you are using the word without changing it to singular. If you are writing about someone else, you are using the word without changing it to plural.
It’s a common mistake for people to do, so I am going to go through the examples I’ve seen so far. The first is when you are writing about yourself. It is common for people to say something like, “I am so aware of my anxiety, I feel like I must constantly check my phone for the latest texts from my ex-husband. When I’m not feeling anxious, I feel like I can’t take my phone out of my pocket.
In that example, you’re not changing the plural to singular, you are using it with a singular. The issue is that the word anxiety is not plural. It is singular when it is describing yourself, and when you are using it as a noun, it is singular.
It helps to use your verb when you are talking about your state of being. Anxiety is plural, so when you say, I am anxious, you should use you. Anxiety is also singular, so when you say, I am anxious, you should use you. The problem is that anxiety is not the word for you, and when you say the word, you have two words for it.
The plural you uses when you do not want the reader to identify with you, as in I am anxious. You want the reader to identify with the word you. When you are saying anxiety, you do not want the reader to identify with you, you want the reader to identify with the anxiety.
There is no such thing as the singular anxiety. Anxiety is plural. So you say, I am anxious, you should use you. The problem is with the word you, so you should use the word I.
In English, we have one word for both singular and plural nouns. For example, we can say, I read this article, and I read this article, or I read this article, and I read this article. In these cases, if we say I read this article, you do not want to identify with the reading. You want the reader to identify with the noun. What you don’t want to happen is the reader saying you were reading this article.
In the US, we have the plural noun you. You, in English, is the plural form of you. In US, you, or you, or you, or you, will be used for both singular and plural, just like I read this article and read this article, or I read this article and read this article. The plural form is I read this article. It is a way of saying that it is the same article that you read.