---
title: "Third Person in Intro to Linguistics"
description: "Third person in Intro to Linguistics refers to forms like he, she, it, and they that point to someone or something outside the speech event."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms/third-person"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Intro to Linguistics"
unit: "Unit 7"
---

# Third Person in Intro to Linguistics

## Definition

Third person is the person-deixis category for referents that are not the speaker or the listener, such as he, she, it, and they. In Intro to Linguistics, it shows how language points to people and things in context.

## What It Is

Third person is the deictic category used for someone or something outside the speaker and listener in a speech event. In Intro to Linguistics, you usually see it through pronouns like he, she, it, they, and their related forms such as him, her, them, and his or hers.

The basic idea is simple: first person points to the speaker, second person points to the listener, and third person points to everyone else. That makes third person one part of person deixis, which is the system language uses to track who is being talked about. If I say, “She left early,” the word she only makes sense once you know who “she” refers to in that conversation or text.

Third person is not just about pronouns in English. Languages can mark third person differently depending on number, gender, animacy, or formality. Some languages have richer agreement patterns on verbs or nouns, while others rely more on context. That is why a linguistics class treats third person as part of a broader reference system, not just a grammar label.

This term also shows up in reference and discourse, because third person often connects to earlier mentions in a sentence or paragraph. For example, if a text says “Maria studied all night. She passed the exam,” the second sentence uses third person to keep the referent clear without repeating the full noun phrase. That kind of reference helps speakers and writers avoid repetition while still keeping track of who is doing what.

A common mistake is to think third person automatically means “objective” or “distant.” That can be true in some writing styles, but in linguistics the core meaning is structural: the referent is outside the speaker-listener pair. Whether the sentence sounds formal, casual, personal, or detached depends on context and style, not just on third person alone.

## Why It Matters

Third person matters because it shows how English and other languages organize reference in real conversations and texts. Once you can spot third person forms, you can follow who a pronoun points to, which is a big part of reading comprehension, discourse analysis, and syntax work.

It also connects directly to deixis and reference, two topics that explain why meaning changes with context. A sentence can be fully grammatical but still confusing if you cannot identify the third-person referent. That is why linguistics classes often ask you to trace pronoun reference across a paragraph, not just define the pronoun in isolation.

Third person also helps you compare languages. Some languages make more distinctions in third person than English does, and those patterns can reveal how a language handles gender, number, or social meaning. If you are analyzing a transcript, story, or grammar example, third person is often the first place you look to see how speakers keep track of participants in the conversation.

## Connections

### first person

First person is the other side of the person-deixis system, pointing to the speaker with forms like I, me, we, and us. Comparing first person to third person makes the speech event clearer, because you can see which words refer to the speaker and which refer to someone outside the speaker-listener pair. That contrast comes up a lot in pronoun analysis and discourse examples.

### second person

Second person points to the listener, usually with you. It sits between first person and third person in the basic person system, so it is useful for spotting who is included in the conversation and who is not. When you map a dialogue, second person often marks direct address, while third person marks outside referents.

### deictic expressions

Third person is one type of deictic expression, but deixis includes more than pronouns. Words like here, now, this, and that also depend on context, just like third-person reference often depends on what has already been mentioned. Seeing third person as part of deixis helps you explain why meaning shifts with speaker, time, and situation.

### [Pronominal Anaphora](/introduction-linguistics/key-terms/pronominal-anaphora)

Pronominal anaphora is when a pronoun refers back to something earlier in the discourse, and third person is one of the main tools for that. In a sentence pair like “Jordan missed class. He emailed the professor,” he is doing anaphoric work. This connection matters when you trace referents across text and explain how pronouns stay linked to antecedents.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz question or passage-analysis item may ask you to identify the third-person pronoun, explain what it refers to, or separate person deixis from other kinds of context-dependent language. You might be given a short dialogue and asked who each pronoun points to, or you may need to explain why a sentence is ambiguous without extra context. In written responses, the safest move is to name the pronoun, identify its referent, and say whether the meaning depends on earlier discourse or the speech situation. If a prompt compares pronoun systems across languages, third person is where you can talk about number, gender, or agreement patterns without drifting into general grammar talk.

## third person vs first person

Third person and first person are easy to mix up because both are pronouns, but they point to different roles in the speech event. First person refers to the speaker, like I or we, while third person refers to someone or something outside the speaker-listener pair, like he, she, it, or they. In analysis questions, ask who is being centered in the sentence, that usually tells you which person category you are seeing.

## Key Takeaways

- Third person refers to people or things that are not the speaker and not the listener.
- In Intro to Linguistics, third person is part of person deixis, so its meaning depends on who is speaking and who is being talked about.
- English third-person forms include he, she, it, they, him, her, and them, but other languages may mark third person differently.
- Third person often works with reference and anaphora, which is how pronouns point back to earlier nouns in a sentence or text.
- A third-person pronoun can be grammatically correct but still unclear if the referent is not obvious from context.

## FAQs

### What is third person in Intro to Linguistics?

Third person is the person-deixis category for referents outside the speaker and listener. In English, that usually means pronouns like he, she, it, and they, plus their object and possessive forms. Linguistics treats it as part of how language tracks participants in context.

### Is third person the same as a pronoun?

Not exactly. Third person is a category, and pronouns are one way to express it. A pronoun like he or they can be third person, but the term also covers how languages mark third-person reference in agreement and discourse.

### How is third person different from first person?

First person points to the speaker, while third person points to someone or something outside the speaker-listener pair. So I and we are first person, but he, she, it, and they are third person. That distinction is one of the core person contrasts in linguistics.

### How do you identify third person in a sentence?

Look for the word that refers to someone other than the speaker or listener, then check its context. If the pronoun points back to an earlier noun phrase, that is often third-person anaphora. The main skill is figuring out the referent, not just spotting the pronoun shape.

## Related Study Guides

- [7.2 Deixis and reference](/introduction-linguistics/unit-7/deixis-reference/study-guide/pNwK5FefmXbVzxyP)

## About This Document

Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`.

- [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns
- [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing
- [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`)
- [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms/third-person#resource","name":"Third Person in Intro to Linguistics","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms/third-person","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms/third-person#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:23:04.196Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"Intro to Linguistics Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms/third-person#term","name":"third person","description":"Third person is the person-deixis category for referents that are not the speaker or the listener, such as he, she, it, and they. In Intro to Linguistics, it shows how language points to people and things in context.","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms/third-person","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"Intro to Linguistics Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is third person in Intro to Linguistics?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Third person is the person-deixis category for referents outside the speaker and listener. In English, that usually means pronouns like he, she, it, and they, plus their object and possessive forms. Linguistics treats it as part of how language tracks participants in context."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is third person the same as a pronoun?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Not exactly. Third person is a category, and pronouns are one way to express it. A pronoun like he or they can be third person, but the term also covers how languages mark third-person reference in agreement and discourse."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is third person different from first person?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"First person points to the speaker, while third person points to someone or something outside the speaker-listener pair. So I and we are first person, but he, she, it, and they are third person. That distinction is one of the core person contrasts in linguistics."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do you identify third person in a sentence?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Look for the word that refers to someone other than the speaker or listener, then check its context. If the pronoun points back to an earlier noun phrase, that is often third-person anaphora. The main skill is figuring out the referent, not just spotting the pronoun shape."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Intro to Linguistics","item":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 7","item":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-linguistics/unit-7"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"third person"}]}]}
```