third person: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2Formal/Technical in grammar, Academic/Literary in narrative.
Quick answer
What does “third person” mean?
A grammatical category referring to someone or something other than the speaker (first person) or the listener (second person).
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A grammatical category referring to someone or something other than the speaker (first person) or the listener (second person).
In narrative forms, the perspective of an external narrator telling the story about characters, using pronouns like 'he', 'she', 'it', or 'they'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal; identical in grammatical and literary definitions.
Connotations
None.
Frequency
Equally frequent in both varieties within technical and literary contexts.
Grammar
How to Use “third person” in a Sentence
[to be] + in + the third person[to write/narrate] + in + the third person[verb] + in + the third-person singularVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “third person” in a Sentence
noun
British English
- The author's use of the third person creates a sense of objectivity.
- 'They' can be used as a singular third-person pronoun.
American English
- The book is written from a third-person perspective.
- In English, the third-person singular present tense verb often takes an 's'.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare; might appear in formal reports or objective descriptions of events: 'The incident was documented in the third person.'
Academic
Common in linguistics and literature courses. Essential for describing grammar and narrative technique.
Everyday
Used when discussing books, films, or grammar: 'I prefer novels written in the third person.'
Technical
Core term in linguistics (grammar) and literary criticism (narratology).
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “third person”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “third person”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “third person”
- Using incorrect verb conjugation for the third-person singular in the present simple (e.g., 'He go' instead of 'He goes').
- Confusing 'third-person limited' (narrator knows one character's thoughts) with 'third-person omniscient' (narrator knows all thoughts).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, 'they' is the third-person plural pronoun. It is also increasingly used and accepted as a singular, gender-neutral third-person pronoun (e.g., 'Someone left their bag').
Third-person limited narration sees events and knows thoughts from one character's perspective only. Third-person omniscient narration has unlimited knowledge and can reveal the thoughts of any character.
This is a grammatical rule of English conjugation. The historical suffix '-s' marks the third-person singular subject in the present tense (e.g., he walks, she runs, it works).
Check your style guide. In many disciplines (e.g., sciences, social sciences), the third person is preferred for objectivity ('The experiment was conducted...'). In some humanities, first person may be acceptable for personal analysis ('I will argue that...').
Third person is usually formal/technical in grammar, academic/literary in narrative. in register.
Third person: in British English it is pronounced /ˌθɜːd ˈpɜːs(ə)n/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌθɝːd ˈpɝːs(ə)n/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “To talk about oneself in the third person (often seen as pompous or a psychological distancing technique).”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a courtroom: 1st person = 'I' (the defendant), 2nd person = 'You' (the judge), 3rd person = 'He/She' (a witness talking about someone else).
Conceptual Metaphor
THE NARRATOR IS A CAMERA (observing from outside the scene).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following sentences is written in the third person?