Third Person

Many a times you would have heard someone say about a book or a story that it was written in third person. What does this term third person really means?

The term third person refers to the nature or the context of the text that is written. It gives the reader information about the said text that it is written such that to describe whose point of view.

In today’s article we will discuss about the third person. If you want to know about the first person and the second person point of views as well, refer to my other article named First Person and Second Person respectively.

Third Person

The term second person is used to describe a clause or piece of text in which the author is not referring to himself but is referring to the third person that is for whom the text is intended for. When people being talked about are referred to in a sentence, the nature of the sentence is third person.

Example:

She was late for dinner.

In the above simple sentence, the author is addressing the third person and telling us (the readers) that she was late for dinner. The term she indicates that this is third person view.

Third Person in English Literature

In English literature, i.e. English novels and textbooks, the context of the text can be of second person. When the author writes from the point of view of the reader or the person that is not there on the scene, the point of view is called second person.

Example:

It was dark outside when he suddenly decided to go for a walk.

Consider this sentence taken from a piece of English literature. In this example, the author is writing in the third person view as is evident from the use of he.

The third person also refers to the text in which the person/writer talks about opinions and views of the person that he is reading the text.

Example:

His sweater is one size big for him.

The above example is another example of third person view. The context of the sentence makes it very clear that the author is referring to the point opinion of the reader. The use of his is another trick to figure out that the sentence is in first person view.

Third Person Pronouns

Although very simple, but if you still find yourself confused about it here’s a trick. In order to identify the nature or view of the sentence or text i.e. weather it is in first person or second or third, a simple trick is to look at the pronouns used.

The third person point of view always uses a set number of pronouns that depict that the text is referring to the reader’s point of view.

These pronouns include: he/she/him/her/his/her/it/its/them/they/their/theirs

Example:

They were determined that the bags was theirs.