The Impersonal "They"
In English, we often say "They say..." or "They robbed me," where "they" does not refer to a specific group of people. Instead, it refers to people in general, or to an unknown person who did the action.
In Spanish, you can express this same idea by using the third-person plural verb form without an explicit subject pronoun (like ellos or ellas).
This is the perfect structure for sharing rumors, myths, and urban legends:
| They say that a witch lives near the old cemetery. | Dicen que una bruja vive cerca del cementerio viejo. |
| They say that the witch never sleeps. | Cuentan que la bruja no duerme nunca. |
| In the town they murmur about the curse of that house. | En el pueblo murmuran sobre la maldición de esa casa. |
Anonymous Actions and Crimes
You will also use this impersonal form when talking about an action performed by someone unknown, like an act of vandalism or a street crime. Even if only one person committed the act, you still use the plural "they" form because the person's identity is a mystery.
| Last night they mugged me in that dark alley. | Anoche me asaltaron en ese callejón oscuro. |
| They painted a very ugly graffiti in the alley. | Pintaron un grafiti muy feo en el callejón. |
| They don't say why they mugged and kidnapped the man. | No dicen por qué asaltaron y secuestraron al hombre. |
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