书上说:非正式文体中,常用they来指he or she, 尤其是在somebody, anybody, nobody, person等不定代词之后。这种用法有时被认为“不正确”,但几世纪以来有教养的人这样说很普遍。
If anybody wants my ticket, they can have it. 谁要我的票,可以拿去。
“There’s somebody at the door.” ‘‘Tell them I’m out.”“门外有个人要见你。”“告诉他们我不在。”
但是下面这句,如果用 they 来代替 someone 总觉得怪怪的:
I met someone who said he knew you. 我碰到一个说自己认识你的人。
比较(不觉得有点怪吗?):
I met someone who said they knew you. 我碰到一个说自己认识你的人。