2

Is it:

Nobody was ever there for me when I needed him.

or

Nobody was ever there for me when I needed them.

1 Answer 1

2

Since "nobody" contains no information about the persons' genders the word to use is "them". "They/them" can also be used to refer to someone in the third person singular form:

They were never there for me when I needed them

Without context this sentence could refer to either one or multiple people.

3
  • Surely: **Nobody contains any information about the person's gender.... ** Nobody being singular and permitting only a single gender (even in this post modern world!) Apr 15, 2019 at 19:32
  • I meant the word "nobody" itself does not contain any information about the gender of the people it is describing. I'm not sure what you meant.
    – Elininja
    Apr 16, 2019 at 15:29
  • 1
    I didn't express myself clearly. The word nobody is singular. It contains no information about the person's gender (singular) rather than the persons' genders (plural). Whereas the pronouns they and them are used both in the plural and to refer to a single person of unknown gender (as you illustrate), nobody must be followed by the singular possessive (person's) rather than the plural (persons'). Apr 17, 2019 at 9:48

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