If you have come to understand how both of the words “it” and “we” are difficult pronouns to use well, now move on to the even more difficult “they.”
They is an oppositional word. “We” includes me. But they are other. They are outside. They are different.
Or are they? What do they really think and feel?
You can easily observe what they do, but do you know why they do these things? A careful, thoughtful observer doesn’t attribute things to others without evidence, or does so with the recognition that you, the observer, the writer, could be wrong about them.
Considering the other is very useful. What can you really know about what they think? It’s not just he or she, it’s a group. They can be ominous, strange, and dangerous. Or they can be interesting, intriguing, and alluring. We are here. They are there. But then again, aren’t they also a part of a bigger we?
Who the hell are they? Who do they think they are? Is it possible to know?
Today, write about a group of others. What do they want? What are they doing? What can you say about yourself, observing them?
Write carefully. Test yourself.
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Randy MurrayThey by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
