You and ye used to be the plural forms of the second person pronoun. You was the accusative form, and ye was the nominative form.
Because of this, you still conjugates verbs in the plural form even when it is singular; that is, you are is correct even if you is only referring to one person.
Thee and thou used to be the singular forms. Thou was the nominative form, and thee was the accusative form. Thy and thine were the genetive forms, and their use followed the same rules as a and an.
Answer from Peter Olson on Stack ExchangeReddit
reddit.com › r/grammar › how i say "you in plural"
r/grammar on Reddit: How I say "you in plural"
August 18, 2024 -
I was chatting with a Netherland guy, who speaks english so I said to him "Netherlands is my favorite soccer team, they deserve a world cup"
But I feel is wrong because im not including him in the phrase, like he deserves as well because he is from Netherlands. So is just "you"? is it interpretive?
Im not used to this because my nature is spanish and we have a word for you in plural, that has not a translation in english.
Another example, i can say "you are the best in this sport" but im not saying YOU personally, Im talking about the team.
Happens me all the time.
How I solve this?
Cheers.
Top answer 1 of 5
102
Yes, just use you. For the second example they would know it is plural by context. American English can use “you guys” or “y’all” to avoid ambiguity. E: lol I didn’t mean for this to trigger everyone’s variations. There are many options, all valid in their own community of practice
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"you people" sounds potentially offensive so "you guys" seems to be the appropriate way of saying it
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › You
You - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - Example: "One should drink water frequently" or "You should drink water frequently". You almost always triggers plural verb agreement, even when it is semantically singular.
Videos
04:34
What is the plural of YOU in English? - YouTube
‘You’ for Everybody #you #الإنجليزية #englishvocabulary #englishtips #language #onlineclass #englishspeaking #englishclass #learning #learnenglish #englishteacher #english #ingilizce #영어교사 #영어 #英語教師 #anh #inglés #profesordeingles #เรียนภาษา #ภาษาอังกฤษ #語言 #知識 #英語 | TikTok
Replying to @vera_an73 English is unusual in only having one word for you which is both singular and Plural. Do you use one? | TikTok
15:03
English Grammar: How to use 5 confusing indefinite pronouns - YouTube
12:26
How To Use ‘You’ - 2nd Person Plural For The Verb To Be In ...
What are the plural subject pronouns?
The plural subject pronouns are “we,” “you,” “they,” and “who.” · “We” is always plural and means “one or more other people and I” (e.g., “We all love working here because our jobs are so fun”). · “You,” “they,” and “who” can be singular or plural (e.g., “I know all of the people who live in this building” and “The person lives next door is my best friend”). · If you’re unsure about when to use singular or plural pronouns, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid mistakes.
quillbot.com
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Is you singular or plural?
Is them singular or plural?
“Them” can be either singular or plural and, like the singular they, it is used to refer to someone when gender is unknown or irrelevant or to refer to a nonbinary person who uses “they/them” personal pronouns. · For example, “If a student misses a class, let them know they can come to office hours.”
quillbot.com
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Is you singular or plural?
Is who a singular or plural pronoun?
Who can be a singular or plural subject pronoun. · Sometimes “who” represents one person (e.g., “The person who shares my office has a terrific sense of humor”). · “Who” can also represent two or more people (e.g., “The people who live across the street have a new puppy”). · If you’re unsure about when to use who in your writing, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you choose the correct pronoun.
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Is you singular or plural?
Langeek
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The difference between singular and plural "you" | LanGeek
1 week ago - 'Yourself' is a second person singular reflexive pronoun, 'you' is the second person personal pronoun both singular and plural. Can they be interchangeable? Which one is grammatically correct? 'I invited his parents, his girlfriend and he?' or 'I invited his parents, his girlfriend and him?' Let's find out! 'He' and 'his' are two examples of gender-specific words ...
Verbling
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What is the plural of 'you'? | Verbling
If we look at the word 'you' in Modern English, we use it for subjects ('You went to the beach'), direct objects ('I love you') and indirect objects ('I gave you the ball/I gave the ball to you'). But if we look at how English was spoken before ...
Promova
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You singular and You plural | Meaning, Examples & Difference | Promova
You plural is a term used to refer to a group of people, either collectively or in dialogue. 1. You all have to be more careful when you're out late. 2. You will need to work together if you want to achieve your goal. ... There are no direct antonyms for this word.
QuillBot
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Is you singular or plural?
September 15, 2024 - The subject pronoun “you” can be singular or plural. If you’re talking to one person, “you” is singular (e.g., “You are a motivated student”). If you’re
The English Bureau
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you, plural, singular, informal or formal?
April 15, 2021 - – Using the word ‘lot’ after you indicates that this is informal. Could you both join me later? – Using the determiner ‘both’ indicates that you is formal / neutral. Could you all / all of you go to the end of the corridor? – Using the determiner ‘all / all of’ indicates that ‘you’ is formal / neutral. (Be careful with this option as ‘you all’ is often used in some types of USA English in a very informal sense.) If you are visiting London and hear other visitors from some parts of Ireland, Scotland or Northern England you may hear the very informal use of ‘youse’ as the plural version.
Top answer 1 of 5
66
You and ye used to be the plural forms of the second person pronoun. You was the accusative form, and ye was the nominative form.
Because of this, you still conjugates verbs in the plural form even when it is singular; that is, you are is correct even if you is only referring to one person.
Thee and thou used to be the singular forms. Thou was the nominative form, and thee was the accusative form. Thy and thine were the genetive forms, and their use followed the same rules as a and an.
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You is the plural.
Thou is the singular form of you.
Thou has now disappeared from common use and is used only to address God.
The process resulting in the use of the singular pronoun to express intimacy and the plural pronoun to mark respect or social distance is termed T-V_distinction, after the Latin tu and vos and is found is many languages, especially of the Proto Indo European family tree.
See for instance, in addition to the Latin form above:
- French: tu => vous
- German: du => ihr (2nd person plural) or Sie (3rd person plural)
- Mandarin 你 (nǐ, you informal) => 您 (nín, you respectful) compared to (nǐmen, 你们, you to several persons).
Even some languages that seem not to comply exactly (because they don't seem to use the 2nd-person plural) actually hide a form a compliance.
- Spanish: tu => vos (obsolete, 2nd-person plural archaic form).
- Italian used to use voi (2nd person plural).
- The você of Portuguese is a contraction of vossa mercê (your mercy) which is an implicit 2nd person plural.
All in all, English has pushed T-V distinction so far that thou is not used anymore in common speak.
Scribbr
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Is “you” singular or plural?
October 29, 2022 - The second-person pronoun you is used for both the singular and the plural (i.e., whether you’re addressing one person or a group).
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › you
YOU Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
To save this word, you'll need to log in. ... —used as the pronoun of the second person singular or plural in any grammatical relation except that of a possessive ... —used formerly only as a plural pronoun of the second person in the dative or accusative case as direct or indirect object of a verb or as object of a preposition compare thee, thou, ye, your, yours ... The history of the pronoun you provides a good example ...
Study.com
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Plural Pronouns | Types & Examples - Lesson | Study.com
May 4, 2018 - See plural pronouns examples in first, second and third person. Compare different types of pronouns: personal, possessive and object. ... Plural personal nouns fall into three categories: first person, second person and third person. The first person plural pronouns are we and us. The second person plural pronoun is you, and the third person plural pronouns are they and them. A plural pronoun is a word that replaces a plural noun or a group of nouns in a sentence.
Quora
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How to say 'you' in plural - Quora
Answer (1 of 11): The plural form of “you” is “you”. There is no specific singular for “you’, it is just as applicable to addressing one person as it is to addressing one hundred people and is always considered to be plural. Any verb association with you must be in plural form.
English Grammar Revolution
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Learn the History of the Pronoun You
Let's start with how we use the word you today. We use you for both subjects and objects. You are great. You = Subject · The magician tricked you. you = Object · We use it as a singular pronoun and a plural pronoun.
Ginger Software
gingersoftware.com › content › grammar-rules › nouns › plural-nouns
English Grammar Rules - Plural Nouns
When you write about more than one of anything, you usually use the same word, simply adding an s, es, or ies to the end. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but not many – one of the best is that a single moose is a moose, and a group of moose are still moose. The difference between singular and plural nouns is easy to spot. When a noun indicates one only, it is a singular noun. When a noun indicates more than one, it is plural. The following sentences contain singular nouns examples.
ESLBUZZ
eslbuzz.com › plural-of-you
Plural of You: Different Forms of Addressing Multiple People - ESLBUZZ
October 23, 2023 - Here are some examples of the singular “you” in sentences: You are doing a great job. ... On the other hand, the plural of “you” can be a bit tricky. In some languages, there is a specific plural form of “you,” but in English, the same word is used for both singular and plural.
Grammar Monster
grammar-monster.com › lessons › plural_forms_of_words.htm
Plural Forms of Words
The plural personal pronouns are "we," "you," and "they." They contrast with the singular personal pronouns, which are "I," "you," "he," "she," and "it." (NB: The personal pronoun "you" can be both singular or plural.
Grammarly
grammarly.com › blog › parts-of-speech › plural-nouns
Plural Nouns: Rules and Examples | Grammarly
January 16, 2025 - Plural possessive: candies’ (Example: The candies’ flavors varied from sour to sweet.) To make a regular noun plural, you add -s or -es to the end, depending on the singular noun’s ending letter. Sometimes, letters of the singular form are changed to create the plural form, such as with half and its plural form, halves. We’ll go into detail about which words ...
Teachtranslatetravelrepeat
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What is the plural of 'you' ? - Teach Translate Travel Repeat
August 27, 2025 - If we look at the word ‘you’ in Modern English, we use it for subjects: ‘You went to the beach’. You can use it for direct objects: ‘I love you’. Finally you can use it for indirect objects: ‘I gave you the ball/I gave the ball ...
Quora
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In English, how can you distinguish the singular “you” and plural “you”? Both are “you are/you were” and “you” for both subject and object. - Quora
Answer (1 of 10): This rarely causes trouble for native speakers. Which meaning of “you” is meant should be clear from the context. If there is any chance of confusion, the speaker can add more words for clarity.