The Grammar Guide Spelling What is the difference between 'thy' and 'they'?

What is the difference between 'thy' and 'they'?

What is the difference between 'thy' and 'they'?

The words thy and they are often confused because they are easy to mistype. In this article, we explain the difference between them.

They means a group of people or objects previously mentioned when used as a pronoun.

Thy means an antiquated form of your when used as a pronoun.

Out of the two words, 'they' is the most common. It appears about 56 times more frequently than 'thy'.



It's easy to mistype words with similar spellings.

They is a pronoun that means "a group of people or one person whose gender is unknown or nonbinary." It is the subject pronoun for the third-person plural.

Thy is an antiquated pronoun. It is used in place of "your" as a possessive pronoun and precedes nouns which start with a consonant sound.

Should I use 'love thy neighbor' or 'love they neighbor'?

The right phrase is 'love thy neighbor'. These phrases are often confused because they look similar.

Should it be ', but they are' or ', but thy are'?

The right phrase is ', but they are'. These phrases are often confused because they look similar.

What's the correct phrase ', but they were' or ', but thy were'?

The right phrase is ', but they were'. These phrases are often confused because they are easy to mistype.

Is the correct expression 'as if they were' or 'as if thy were'?

You should use 'as if they were'. These phrases are often confused because they look similar.

Is the right expression ', and they were' or ', and thy were'?

The right expression is ', and they were'. These phrases are often confused because they appear similar.

Should it be ', and they are' or ', and thy are'?

The correct phrase is ', and they are'. These phrases are often confused because they have a similar spelling.

Some synonyms of they are: those people, a group of people.

Some synonyms of thy are: your, thine.

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The definitions in this article were adapted from Wiktionary.

Examples of thy in a sentence

Bring thy power to bear."
- Demon Lord of Karanda by David Eddings
What immortal hand or eyeDare frame thy fearful symmetry?—WILLIAM
- Collider by Paul Halpern
Confine thyself to the right-whale, thy lawful prey.'
- Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian
Honor thy pledge
- Secret Weapon Spouse by B. J. Daniels
Think, man, thy life may not ever endure;
- The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by John Joseph Adams

Examples of they in a sentence

What exactly did they say?”
- The Replacement Child by Christine Barber
They need a leader around whom to gather—”
- Weighed in the balance by Anne Perry
They should have been working together because there was certainly enough business to go around.
- Nothing gold can stay by Dana Stabenow
Apparently they’re still safe from all that up in the Ring, too.”
- Grand Junction by Maurice G. Dantec
They’re coming.
- Mystery Bride by B. J. Daniels

Test yourself

Choose the missing word in each question.