You

In Modern English, the word "you" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in mostTemplate:Fact modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers.

History

Template:FurtherYou comes from the Proto-Germanic demonstrative base Template:Lang, Template:Lang from Proto-Indo-European Template:Lang (second-person plural pronoun).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Old English had singular, dual, and plural second-person pronouns. The dual form was lost by the twelfth century,<ref name="Cambridge 1992">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp and the singular form was lost by the early 1600s.<ref name="etymonline.com">Template:Cite web</ref> The development is shown in the following table.<ref name="Cambridge 1992" />Template:Rp

Second-person pronouns in Old English, Middle English, & Modern English

	Singular			Dual			Plural
	OE	ME	Mod	OE	ME	Mod	OE	ME	Mod
Nominative	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	rowspan="4" Template:N/a	Template:Lang	colspan="2" rowspan="4" Template:N/a	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	you
Accusative	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	Template:Lang
Dative
Genitive	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	Template:Lang	your(s)

Early Modern English distinguished between the plural Template:Lang and the singular Template:Lang. As in many other European languages, English at the time had a T–V distinction, which made the plural forms more respectful and deferential; they were used to address strangers and social superiors.<ref name="etymonline.com"/> This distinction ultimately led to familiar thou becoming obsolete in modern English, although it persists in some English dialects.

Yourself had developed by the early 14th century, with the plural yourselves attested from 1520.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Morphology

In Standard Modern English, you has five shapes representing six distinct word forms:<ref name="Huddleston & Pullum">Template:Cite book</ref>

• you: the nominative (subjective) and accusative (objective or oblique case<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp) forms
• your: the dependent genitive (possessive) form
• yours: the independent genitive (possessive) form
• yourselves: the plural reflexive and intensive (emphatic) form
• yourself: the singular reflexive and intensive (emphatic) form

Plural forms from other varieties

Although there is some dialectal retention of the original plural ye and the original singular thou, most English-speaking groups have lost the original forms. Because of the loss of the original singular-plural distinction, many English dialects belonging to this group have innovated new plural forms of the second person pronoun. Examples of such pronouns sometimes seen and heard include:

• y'all, or you all – southern United States,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> African-American Vernacular English, the Abaco Islands,<ref name="Schreier 2013">Template:Cite book</ref> St. Helena<ref name="Schreier 2013"/> and Tristan da Cunha.<ref name="Schreier 2013" /> Y'all however, is also occasionally used for the second-person singular in the North American varieties.
• Template:AnchorTemplate:Wikt-lang – United States,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> particularly in the Midwest, Northeast, South Florida and West Coast; Canada, Australia. Gendered usage varies; for mixed groups, "you guys" is nearly always used. For groups consisting of only women, forms like "you girls" or "you gals" might appear instead, though "you guys" is sometimes used for a group of only women as well.
• Template:Wikt-lang – United Kingdom,<ref>Finegan, Edward (2011). Language: Its Structure and Use. Wadsworth Publishing Co Inc p. 489. Template:ISBN</ref> Palmerston Island,<ref name="Williams 2015">Template:Cite book</ref> Australia
• you mob – Australia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Template:Wikt-lang, all-you – Caribbean English,<ref name="Allsopp">Template:Cite book</ref> Saba<ref name="Williams 2015" />
• a(ll)-yo-dis – Guyana<ref name="Allsopp" />
• allyuh – Trinidad and Tobago<ref name="cguillaumme">Template:Cite web</ref>
• among(st)-you – Carriacou, Grenada, Guyana,<ref name="Allsopp" /> Utila<ref name="Williams 2015" />
• Template:Wikt-lang – Barbados<ref name="Allsopp" />
• yinna – Bahamas<ref name="Allsopp" />
• Template:Wikt-lang/oona – Jamaica, Belize, Cayman Islands, Barbados,<ref name="Allsopp" /> San Salvador Island<ref name="Schreier 2013" />
• Template:Wikt-lang – Ireland,<ref>Dolan, T. P. (2006). A Dictionary of Hiberno-English. Gill & Macmillan. p. 26. Template:ISBN</ref> Tyneside,<ref>Wales, Katie (1996). Personal Pronouns in Present-Day English. Cambridge University Press. p. 76. Template:ISBN</ref> Merseyside,<ref>Kortmann, Bernd; Upton, Clive (2008). Varieties of English: The British Isles. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 378. Template:ISBN</ref> Central Scotland,<ref>Taavitsainen, Irma; Jucker, Andreas H. (2003). Diachronic Perspectives on Address Term Systems. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 351. Template:ISBN</ref> Australia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Falkland Islands,<ref name="Schreier 2013" /> New Zealand,<ref name="Williams 2015" /> Philadelphia,<ref>My sweet | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/03/2008 Template:Webarchive</ref> parts of the Midwestern US,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cape Breton and rural CanadaTemplate:Citation needed
• yous(e) guys – in the United States, particularly in New York City region, Philadelphia, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan;Template:Citation needed
• you-uns, or yinz – Western Pennsylvania, the Ozarks, the Appalachians<ref name="Rehder 2004">Template:Cite book</ref>
• ye, Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang – Ireland,<ref>Howe, Stephen (1996). The Personal Pronouns in the Germanic Languages: A Study of Personal Morphology and Change in the Germanic Languages from the First Records to the Present Day. p. 174. Walter de Gruyter & Co. Template:ISBN</ref> Tyneside,<ref>Graddol, David et al. (1996). English History, Diversity and Change. Routledge. p. 244. Template:ISBN</ref> Newfoundland and Labrador<ref name="Williams 2015" />

Semantics

You prototypically refers to the addressee along with zero or more other persons, excluding the speaker. You is also used to refer to personified things (e.g., why won't you start? addressed to a car).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> You is always definite even when it is not specific.

Semantically, you is both singular and plural, though syntactically it is almost always plural: i.e. always takes a verb form that originally marked the word as plural, (i.e. you are, in common with we are and they are).

First person usage

The practice of referring to oneself as you, occasionally known as tuism,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is common when talking to oneself.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is less common in conversations with others, as it could easily result in confusion. Since English lacks a distinct first person singular imperative mood, you and let's function as substitutes.

Third person usage

Template:Details You is used to refer to an indeterminate person, as a more common alternative to the very formal indefinite pronoun one.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Though this may be semantically third person, for agreement purposes, you is always second person.

Example: "One should drink water frequently" or "You should drink water frequently".

Syntax

Agreement

You almost always triggers plural verb agreement, even when it is semantically singular.

Functions

You can appear as a subject, object, determiner or predicative complement.<ref name="Huddleston & Pullum"/> The reflexive form also appears as an adjunct. You occasionally appears as a modifier in a noun phrase.

• Subject: You're there; your being there; you paid for yourself to be there.
• Object: I saw you; I introduced her to you; You saw yourself.
• Predicative complement: The only person there was you; this is yours.
• Determiner: I met your friend.
• Adjunct: You did it yourself.
• Modifier: This sounds like a you problem.

Dependents

Pronouns rarely take dependents, but it is possible for you to have many of the same kind of dependents as other noun phrases.

• Relative clause modifier: you who believe
• Determiner: the real you; *the you
• Adjective phrase modifier: the real you; *real you
• Adverb phrase external modifier: Not even you

See also

• Generic you
• English personal pronouns
• Thou
• Y'all
• Yinz