Old English had a single third-person pronoun — from the Proto-Germanicdemonstrative base *khi-, from PIE *ko- "this"[3] — which had a plural and three genders in the singular. The modern pronoun it developed out of the neuter singular, starting to appear without the h in the 12th century. Her developed out of the feminine singular dative and genitive forms, while the other feminine forms and the plural were replaced with other words. The older pronoun had the following forms:
In the 12th century, it started to separate and appear without an h. Around the same time, one case was lost, and distinct pronouns started to develop. The -self forms developed in early Middle English, with hine self becoming himself.[5] By the 15th century, the Middle English forms of he had solidified into those we use today.[4]: 120
He had three genders in Old English, but in Middle English, the neuter and feminine genders split off. Today, he is the only masculine pronoun in English. In the 18th century, it was suggested as a gender-neutral pronoun, and was thereafter often prescribed in manuals of style and school textbooks until around the 1960s.[6] In 2019 the Meriam-Webster dictionary added the singular they after seeing a spike in search interest.[7]
He's referents are generally limited to individual malepersons, excluding the speaker and the addressee. He is always definite and usually specific.
Generic
The pronoun he can be used to refer to an unspecified person, as in If you see someone in trouble, help him. (See Gender above). This can seem very unnatural, even ungrammatical, as in these examples:
?When somebody gives birth, it's good for him to have assistance.
?If either your mother or father would like to discuss it, I'll talk to him.
The dominant epicene pronoun in modern written British English is 'they'.[9] Many style guides now reject the generic 'he'.[10]
^Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002). The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge University Press.
^Lass, Roger, ed. (1999). The Cambridge history of the English Language: Volume III 1476–1776. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.)
^"it | Origin and meaning of it by Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
^ abBlake, Norman, ed. (1992). The Cambridge history of the English Language: Volume II 1066–1476. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
^"himself, pron. and n." Oxford English Dictionary.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^O'Conner, Patricia; Kellerman, Stewart (21 July 2009). . New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
^Locker, Melissa (10 December 2019). "Merriam Webster Names 'They' As Its Word of the Year for 2019". Time. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
^Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002). The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge University Press.
^Franziska, Moser; Magda, Formanowicz; Sabine, Sczesny (2 February 2016). "Can Gender-Fair Language Reduce Gender Stereotyping and Discrimination?". Frontiers in Psychology. 7 (25): 3. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00025. PMC4735429. PMID 26869947.
^Paterson, Laura (25 July 2014). British Pronoun Use, Prescription, and Processing: Linguistic and Social Influences Affecting 'They' and 'He'. Frontiers in Psychology. Vol. 7 (2014th ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 2. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00025. ISBN978-1137332721. PMC4735429. PMID 26869947.
pronoun, look, himself, wiktionary, free, dictionary, modern, english, singular, masculine, third, person, pronoun, contents, morphology, history, gender, syntax, functions, dependents, semantics, generic, deities, pronunciation, references, notes, further, re. Look up he him his or himself in Wiktionary the free dictionary In Modern English he is a singular masculine third person pronoun Contents 1 Morphology 2 History 3 Gender 4 Syntax 4 1 Functions 4 2 Dependents 5 Semantics 5 1 Generic 5 2 Deities 6 Pronunciation 7 References 8 Notes 9 Further reading 10 See alsoMorphology EditIn Standard Modern English he has four shapes representing five distinct word forms 1 he the nominative subjective form him the accusative objective form also called the oblique case 2 146 his the dependent and independent genitive possessive forms himself the reflexive formHistory EditFurther information Old English pronouns Proto Germanic pronouns and Proto Indo European pronounsOld English had a single third person pronoun from the Proto Germanic demonstrative base khi from PIE ko this 3 which had a plural and three genders in the singular The modern pronoun it developed out of the neuter singular starting to appear without the h in the 12th century Her developed out of the feminine singular dative and genitive forms while the other feminine forms and the plural were replaced with other words The older pronoun had the following forms Old English third person pronoun 4 117 Singular PluralMasculine Neuter FeminineNominative he hit heo hi e Accusative hine hit hie hi e Dative him him hire him heomGenitive his his hire hira heoraIn the 12th century it started to separate and appear without an h Around the same time one case was lost and distinct pronouns started to develop The self forms developed in early Middle English with hine self becoming himself 5 By the 15th century the Middle English forms of he had solidified into those we use today 4 120 Gender EditMain article Gender neutrality in English He had three genders in Old English but in Middle English the neuter and feminine genders split off Today he is the only masculine pronoun in English In the 18th century it was suggested as a gender neutral pronoun and was thereafter often prescribed in manuals of style and school textbooks until around the 1960s 6 In 2019 the Meriam Webster dictionary added the singular they after seeing a spike in search interest 7 Syntax EditFunctions Edit He can appear as a subject object determiner or predicative complement 8 The reflexive form also appears as an adjunct He occasionally appears as a modifier in a noun phrase Subject He s there him being there his being there he paid for himself to be there Object I saw him I introduced her to him He saw himself Predicative complement The only person there was him Dependent determiner I met his friend Independent determiner This is his Adjunct He did it himself Modifier The he goat was missing Dependents Edit Pronouns rarely take dependents but it is possible for he to have many of the same kind of dependents as other noun phrases Relative clause modifier he who arrives late Determiner A Somebody was here and he left this B I m that he Adjective phrase modifier the real him Adverb phrase external modifier Not even himSemantics EditHe s referents are generally limited to individual male persons excluding the speaker and the addressee He is always definite and usually specific Generic Edit The pronoun he can be used to refer to an unspecified person as in If you see someone in trouble help him See Gender above This can seem very unnatural even ungrammatical as in these examples When somebody gives birth it s good for him to have assistance If either your mother or father would like to discuss it I ll talk to him The dominant epicene pronoun in modern written British English is they 9 Many style guides now reject the generic he 10 Deities Edit When speaking of God Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit some Christians use the capitalised forms He His and Him in writing and in some translations of the Bible a Pronunciation EditAccording to the OED the following pronunciations are used Form Plain Unstressed Recordinghe UK ˈhiː US hi h iː h i source source female speaker with US accenthim hɪm ɪm source source female speaker with US accenthis hɪz ɪz source source female speaker with US accenthimself hɪmˈsɛlf source source female speaker with US accentReferences Edit Huddleston Rodney Pullum Geoffrey K 2002 The Cambridge grammar of the English language Cambridge University Press Lass Roger ed 1999 The Cambridge history of the English Language Volume III 1476 1776 Cambridge Cambridge University Press it Origin and meaning of it by Online Etymology Dictionary www etymonline com Retrieved 20 March 2021 a b Blake Norman ed 1992 The Cambridge history of the English Language Volume II 1066 1476 Cambridge Cambridge University Press himself pron and n Oxford English Dictionary a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link O Conner Patricia Kellerman Stewart 21 July 2009 On Language All Purpose Pronoun New York Times Magazine Archived from the original on 30 May 2012 Retrieved 7 July 2012 Locker Melissa 10 December 2019 Merriam Webster Names They As Its Word of the Year for 2019 Time Retrieved 10 December 2019 Huddleston Rodney Pullum Geoffrey K 2002 The Cambridge grammar of the English language Cambridge University Press Franziska Moser Magda Formanowicz Sabine Sczesny 2 February 2016 Can Gender Fair Language Reduce Gender Stereotyping and Discrimination Frontiers in Psychology 7 25 3 doi 10 3389 fpsyg 2016 00025 PMC 4735429 PMID 26869947 Paterson Laura 25 July 2014 British Pronoun Use Prescription and Processing Linguistic and Social Influences Affecting They and He Frontiers in Psychology Vol 7 2014th ed New York Palgrave Macmillan p 2 doi 10 3389 fpsyg 2016 00025 ISBN 978 1137332721 PMC 4735429 PMID 26869947 Notes Edit See reverential capitalizationFurther reading Edit He The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Fourth edition Boston Houghton Mifflin Company 2000 See also EditEnglish personal pronouns Gender neutrality in languages with gendered third person pronouns Generic antecedent Third person pronoun Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title He pronoun amp oldid 1115522797, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
