#anyways just a neopronoun user and creator trying to help y'all out

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

How to use neopronouns

A guide by Me

Okay what up bitches my name’s Lia and I’m here to teach you how to use neopronouns, because as fun as these things are, they can be COMPLICATED and I want to help you out. Am I an expert? There ain’t no fucking degree in neopronoun use-ology, so technically no, but I use pretty much every pronoun and neopronoun I see so I’m close enough

Basic disclaimers before we get into this:

-I’m american and I only know english. this guide will cover how to use pronouns in the english language. sorry if you need help with neopronouns in other languages, I can’t help you there -There are fancy grammar words to describe different pronouns. I will not be using them because they confuse me. The way I plan to teach you is (hopefully) simpler than trying to figure out how to pair up the fancy words to the pronouns

Alright babes let’s go

Let’s start this off by saying there are a LOT of neopronouns. And there are a lot of variations in neopronouns. This is why it can be confusing when first trying to use them.

But never fear! I, the god of neopronouns, have come to aid you in your time of need with a handy-dandy method that helps you sort and organize neopronouns so that you can use them properly! Using words that are common in the english language to get used to ones that aren’t-so-common!

The base of this method is understanding that most neopronoun sets follow the rules of already existing pronoun sets- namely it, he, she, and they sets. There are exceptions to this, of course, and I’ll cover them at the end. For now, allow me to go through the main four sets.

The it/its/itself set

While you may not be used to using it as pronouns, the it set is one english speakers should be pretty familiar with. It’s also one of the easiest of the pronoun sets to spot- sets following the it set type will have a base pronoun (i.e. it) that is altered with an ‘s’ added to the end and a ‘self’ added to the end. This set only consists of three pronouns.

An example of the it set is rem/rems/remself. When using neopronouns that follow the it set, follow the grammar of the it set as well. Examples:

It was having a good day. // Rem was having a good day. The bag is its. // The bag is rems. It believed in itself. // Rem believe in remself.

The he/him/his/himself set

Pronoun sets following the he set will be harder to identify than ones that follow it set, as they don’t always revolve around a base pronoun. Pronoun sets that follow the he set should have four pronouns and should not have any pronouns that go “base pronoun, base pronoun + s” (i.e. it, its)- this is an indicator pronoun sets that follow she sets.

An example of the he set is ve/ver/vis/verself. When using neopronouns that follow the he set, follow the grammar of the he set as well. Examples:

He was having a good day. // Ve was having a good day. That belongs to him. // That belongs to ver. The bag is his. // The bad is vis. He believed in himself. // Ve believed in verself.

The she/her/hers/herself set

Due to this set also having four pronouns, it can be easy to confusion pronouns following the she set with ones following the he set. The key detail to remember here is that the she set includes the “base pronoun, base pronoun + s” (i.e. it, its) pronouns that he sets don’t.

An examples of the she set is fae/faer/faers/faerself. When using neopronouns that follow the she set, follow the grammar of the she set as well. Examples:

She was having a good day. // Fae was having a good day. That belongs to her. // That belongs to faer. The bag is hers. // The bag is faers. She believed in herself. // Fae believed in faerself.

The they/them/their/theirs/themself set

Though the they set doesn’t have a base pronoun, it’s often easier to identify than he/she sets, for the sake that it has five pronouns. Most they sets will also have “base pronoun, base pronoun + s” (i.e. it, its) pronouns, though this is not always the case.

An example of the they set is ay/em/air/airs/emself. When using neopronouns that follow the they set, follow the grammar of the they set as well.

Except- what’s this? It’s an EXCEPTION!

As you should know, they/them pronouns are used in a plural sense (’they were happy’ opposed to the singular ‘he was happy’). This does not, however, mean that they set pronouns are plural. In fact, for the most part, they set pronouns are used in a singular sense.

However, neopronouns are used by lots of people with lots of preferences, and there are people who use their pronouns in the plural sense- this can apply to all neopronouns, not just they set ones, I’m just explaining this now because it’s where it fits best in this neat little outline I’ve got going. While I will be giving these examples using the singular sense for the neopronoun examples, that does NOT give you the right to use them singular if the person using them has asked you to treat them as plural pronouns. Don’t be an ass, respect the person’s pronoun choices.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled examples.

They were having a good day. // Ay was having a good day. That belongs to them. // That belongs to em. This is their place. // This is air place. The bag is theirs. // The bag is airs. They believed in themself. // Ay believed in emself.

Other sets

As noted at the beginning of all of this- there are a LOT of neoproun sets. They’re not all going to obey the rules of just four ‘common’ sets!!! That wouldn’t be any FUN.

So I’m going to go through some possible examples of non it-he-she-they following pronoun sets.

Three-pronoun sets that don’t follow the base pronoun + s and + self rule. Example: Ny/nyx/nyxself Possible variations on how to use them: They can be treated like it sets, just with a different letter used as the + s (i.e. That bag is nyx. // That belongs to ny.). They can also be used where the first pronoun is used as it/he/she/they would be used, while the second pronoun fills in everywhere else [barring the + self pronoun spots, of course] (i.e. That bag is nyx. // That belongs to nyx.)

Five-pronoun sets that don’t have base, base + s pronouns Example: Ca/cam/fla/flage/camouflageself Possible variations on how to use them: Usually you just treat it like a they set, only using a different pronoun for the ‘base + s’ slot- i.e. saying ‘that bag is flage’ instead of ‘that bag is flas’

Two-pronoun sets Example: Al/alself Possible variations on how to use them:  Pretty much just use the non + self pronoun in every pronoun slot, the + self pronoun slots barred- i.e. ‘Al was going to the beach for the first time in al life. It was just going to be al and alself on the sand.’

And many, many, many more options!!!

Neopronouns are too varied for me to cover all the possibilities of them, which brings me to my final point: when in doubt, ASK. For the love of the gods, ask the neopronoun user how to use their pronouns if you’re confused. Hell, probably do it even if you’re not confused. Always differ to the pronoun user for the guaranteed right answer (at least for them). If you want to know how to use them but you can’t find someone who uses that particular set, try googling them- often times, you’ll be able to find someone who’s grammar-ed them out for you.

Now, it’s slightly different if you’re looking into these pronouns for yourself, for the sake that neopronouns are W A C K. There are often times dozens of sets nearly identical but for a single letter. They follow crazy patterns that differ for everyone who uses them. If you find neopronouns you want to use for yourself but aren’t sure about grammar, just make your own up. Picking out pronouns for yourself is about your comfort and happiness using them. Make them fit the mold you want them too, and don’t let ANYONE come after you for it. You’re fucking glorious, hun, don’t let cowards and grammar laws scare you.

And with that, we conclude the guide on using neopronouns. If you have questions or something you would like to add, feel free to contact me through my ask box. Dms too, I suppose, but ask box is probably better.

Stay fucking fabulous darlings.