Use of plural pronoun to avoid mentioning of gender

Question

I'm aware that (at least today's) English allows the use of a plural pronoun to avoid mentioning a gender of the subject. Example: _"Everybody can do what they want to" instead of "Everybody can do what he wants to." A typical use seems to be whenever the speaker does not know the sex of the actors and thus does not want to state it wrong or to let the phrase apply to both sexes alike.

As this example clearly shows, the numerus of the predicate then matches the numerus of the subject: "he wants" vs. "they want". This leads me to a dilemma if there are several predicates, associated to both the "everybody" and the neutral pronoun: "Everybody pays for what they get."

The first verb feels better to be in singular case ("pays"), the latter obviously must be in plural case ("get"), yet both refer to the same entity which can hardly be singular and plural.

To use plural case for both verbs ("Everybody pay for what they get") sounds strange in the beginning of the sentence, and the mixed numerus given before sounds a little as if it isn't reflexively meant, i. e. as if everybody has to pay for whatever some other group of individuals ("they") get.

What is the typical solution to my problem?

EDIT: To make this clear: I'm not asking about the singular they and its use, I'm asking about the "pay" vs. "pays" in my example (i. e. the verb of the "everybody") and about the observed or felt dichotomy of using a plural verb and a singular verb for the same actor in one sentence. Is there a more detailed answer to that besides "'they' can refer to a singular object and is to be used in plural form"?

Answer 1

"Everybody" normally functions as equivalent to third person singular: "he pays, she pays, everybody pays".

Easiest way to build a complex sentence that uses both is to construct the subject and verb using one of the other third person singulars: "she", "he", or even "it" first, to get that part correct; "she pays ". Then build the adverbial phrase using "they", which takes a third-person plural verb: "they get", "they find", "they are", "they have". Then change "she" to "everybody", and add the adverbial phrase: "Everybody pays when they have enough money". (It's an adverbial phrase because we could replace it completely with an adverb: "everybody pays happily".)

The rule is "everybody" acts singular, "they" acts plural, and we're just accepting by fiat that "they" implies third person singular, but its actual third-person-plural nature is used to decide what verb to use.

Answer 2

They in English is indeterminate to two things: gender, and number.

The sentence or wider expression in which it is used, may not be indeterminate in either, with the number or gender or both being clear. Indeed, we can combine the generic masculine where we use he for either gender with the generic they, though obviously those with a strong aversion to one will not be combing both.

The form of they though is plural. And so even if the use is clearly about one person, we use plural forms. Consider Romeo and Juliet: Act 3, Scene 3. First Friar Lawrence says:

Arise; one knocks; good Romeo, hide thyself.

The singular pronoun one is matched with the singular form of the verb; knocks.

But then, he says:

Hark, how they knock!—Who's there?—Romeo, arise;

The pronoun they is clearly used with the singular, and of someone for whom the singular has already been used, but because the form of the pronoun is plural even in this use, it is matched with the plural form of the verb; knock.

So, even if the meaning is clearly singular, the form to use is the plural.

Edit:

If we where to combine the two then we would have:

One knocks and how they knock!

(It's not as nice as the original, but I'm neither Shakespeare nor striving for greatness).

Similarly:

Everybody pays for what they get.

The number of the verb follows the form of the noun or pronoun that is its subject, even when combined in a way that changes this from one pronoun to the next.