Pronouns

Words people use for you when you are not in the room.

16 sets, each with all five forms and how it sounds out loud. Trying one on costs nothing.

They/Them

The most widely used gender-neutral pronoun in English, and the oldest: singular they has been in the language for centuries.

they · them · their · themselves

Ze/Zir

Ze/zir is the best-known neopronoun: a fresh subject word, ze, with an object form, zir, that behaves like her.

ze · zir · zir · zirself

Fae/Faer

Fae/faer is a neopronoun borrowed from the word for fairy folk; it declines like she/her and is mostly used online.

fae · faer · faer · faerself

E/Em (Spivak)

The Spivak set is they/them with the th cut off: e, em, eir, eirs, emself. It is singular, easy to say, and has a documented history.

e · em · eir · emself

Ve/Ver

Ve/ver is a neopronoun with a science-fiction pedigree: ve, ver, vis, vis, verself, best known from Greg Egan's novels.

ve · ver · vis · verself

Per/Pers

Per/pers is short for person: per is the subject and object, pers the possessive, perself the reflexive. A novelist made it famous.

per · per · pers · perself

Co/Cos

Co/cos is a 1970 feminist coinage still used in some intentional communities: co, co, cos, cos, coself.

co · co · cos · coself

Sie/Hir

Sie/hir pairs a subject word said like see with hir, a blend of him, his and her. It dates from the early 1990s online.

sie · hir · hir · hirself

Xe/Xem

Xe is a neopronoun that works exactly like he or she in a sentence: xe is, xe does, singular all the way.

xe · xem · xyr · xemself

Ze/Hir

Ze/hir pairs a new subject word, ze, with hir, a blend of him, his and her that is said exactly like "here".

ze · hir · hir · hirself

Ey/Em

Ey/em is they/them with the th dropped: ey went, I saw em, eir book, it is eirs, ey did it emself.

ey · em · eir · emself

It/Its

It/its is a real, chosen pronoun for some people, and a slur when used on anyone who did not choose it. Consent is the whole rule.

it · it · its · itself

Ne/Nem

Ne/nem is a neopronoun on the pattern of he/him: ne is, I saw nem, nir coat, it is nirs, ne did it nemself.

ne · nem · nir · nemself

Ae/Aer

Ae/aer is a neopronoun from a 1920 science-fiction novel, now used by real people: ae is, I saw aer, aer coat, it is aers, aerself.

ae · aer · aer · aerself

Thon

Thon is the oldest neopronoun on record: proposed in 1858 as a squeeze of "that one", once in a dictionary, now in use again.

thon · thon · thons · thonself

Name-only (no pronouns)

Some people use no pronouns at all: you use their name every time, or rephrase. It is a practice, not a set.

[name] · [name] · [name]'s · [name]