# How do y'all use y'all **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160 "2005-01-17T05:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/41 "2005-01-17T22:19:58Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > I am a Northerer born and bred, who has traveled extensively in the US but generally on a horizontal plain. That is, I’ve never been south of the Mason Dixon. Nonetheless, I’m a big fan of “y’all”. English is sorely lacking in a second person plural and I think it needs one. Until we adopt “vous”, I’m going with “y’all”. Actually, English used to have a second person pronoun, thou/thy/thine/thee\*. But that fell out of use, and you/your/yours/you became the norm. For me, y’all is the second person plural, and declines as y’all/y’all’s/y’all’s/y’all. \*That’s subjective/possessive adjective/possessive pronoun/objective. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/42 "2005-01-17T22:44:55Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > For me, y’all is the second person plural And y’all hail from? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/43 "2005-01-17T22:47:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > And y’all hail from? 🙂 Uh…born in Durham, NC and lived there for three years, then moved to Columbus, OH for 14 years, then four years in Charlottesville, VA and almost three years in northern VA. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/44 "2005-01-17T22:59:21Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Actually, English used to have a second person pronoun, thou/thy/thine/thee\*. But that fell out of use, and you/your/yours/you became the norm. “Thou” isn’t any more plural than “you”. Actually, I think if anything it was _less_ likely to be plural than “you”. The difference between “thou” and “you” was in the level of formality/intimacy. To the OP: “Y’all” is plural. There may be a few small regions in Texas or the South where it is used in the singular, but I’ve never encountered anyone except damn Yankee using the word that way. “All y’all” can be used to clarify that each and every one of the people present is being addressed. Oh, and I was born in Texas but we moved away before I was of speaking age! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/45 "2005-01-17T23:03:47Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > “Thou” isn’t any more plural than “you”. Actually, I think if anything it was _less_ likely to be plural than “you”. The difference between “thou” and “you” was in the level of formality/intimacy. Er, I meant to say that it was the singular pronoun. The formality bit mirrors what you see in French/Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/46 "2005-01-17T23:07:44Z")
Thanks. Linguists at the University of Texas, San Antonia say that Texas are more likely to use ya’ll when addressing a single person. I in an adjoining state also tend to use it for a single person. hlanelee wins the prize for “you fuckers”. ---
**Author:** ![Poonther](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Poonther](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poonther)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/47 "2005-01-17T23:18:11Z")
1. I always use y’all as plural. I also use the possessive form of y’all’s pronounced more like “y’allez” as in “Is that y’all’s car?” 2. Born/raised in Alabama. Was made fun of for using y’all in Yankee South Florida. Free to use it without ridicule here in North Florida which is Southern. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/48 "2005-01-18T01:19:29Z")
1. second person plural. 2 or more beings. 2a. pa, ma, ne. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/49 "2005-01-18T01:42:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Dammit. > OK, this is a poll for those of us who use the word. > > 1. Does ya’ll mean one one person or a group? > > 2. Did y’all (dammit) > > 2A) Did you learn to speak in Texas? 1. Other posters have commented on the apostrophe crawl, so I won’t. But I will say that it makes me itchy. Anyway, I always use ‘y’all’ to speak of a group. 1. Meh? I have been known to damn things quite often, if that’s what you mean… 2. Grew up in Texas, moved away, still use ‘y’all’. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/50 "2005-01-18T02:46:39Z")
I hate to spoil the joke, but for those of you who are confused, **carnivorousplant** ’s OP says “dammit” everytime s/he uses the word “y’all” in a sentence. Question 2) with “y’all” is interrupted with a “dammit” and corrected to 2A), where it’s replaced by “you”. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/51 "2005-01-18T02:56:20Z")
Dammit. There YOU go, I said “dammit” without saying “y’all”! _dammit_. ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/52 "2005-01-18T03:31:00Z")
1. Never use y’all. Use you-guys for the plural, you for single, you two to specify two. 2A) California ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/53 "2005-01-18T07:36:00Z")
1)One always refers to a group. Sometimes it might be _addressed_ to a single person, but in those cases it _refers_ to a group, generally the person’s entire famdamily. “How are y’all?” is just shorthand for “How are you? How’s your spouse? The kids are doing fine, I hope. Your mother, I trust she’s keeping well?” If the questioner doesn’t know (or at least know of, we generally don’t have to have met people to ask after them) your family, “y’all” might refer to one’s roommates, friends, or other group that the questioner does know. 1. Born and raised in Kentucky. Re: people outside the Southeast thinking “y’all” sounds stupid. The way I look at it, if people are so closed-minded that they’re going to look down on someone for using a grammatically correct contraction, their opinion isn’t worth worrying about. And God help 'em if they don’t have equal scorn for people who say “youse,” which isn’t even a fucking _word_. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/54 "2005-01-18T07:45:13Z")
1. It’s the second person plural. That is its proper use. It can also be used as in **CrazyCatLady’s** example. There’s no need to say “all y’all;” that would be redundant. 2. Louisiana. Though I can and will use “standard English,” my speech gets more Louisiana in it every day. I’m not complaining, I’m just assimilating. ---
**Author:** ![DWToml815](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DWToml815](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWToml815)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/55 "2005-01-18T09:39:49Z")
1. A group, generaly familiar to the speaker. For strangers I tend to use, “You folks.” 2. Kentucky, I was born bleeding blue. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/56 "2005-01-18T21:17:11Z")
I’m a native Texan. Y’all is nominally singular. When referring to a group, use All Y’all, as in “Hey! All Y’all get yer butts over here!” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/57 "2005-01-18T21:29:10Z")
I think the best example is still, “Y’all been drinkin’. All y’all been drinkinn’.” If I may digress, the response is often another confusion of plurality: “I had a couple”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/58 "2005-01-19T07:18:57Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > I’m from Gainesville, FL which is in North Florida and Southern as opposed to South Florida which is Northern. 😕 > [@tremorviolet's profile](#): > > Location: beayoootiful Austin, TX Y’all is plural. After double checking my profile - I’m from Mississippi. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/59 "2005-01-19T11:05:50Z")
Y’all is plural. Second person plural, to be precise. I don’t feel ashamed using it because it fills the second-person plural void in English, which is filled by an officially accepted pronoun in every other language I know.\* Even English once had a second person plural (ye) which dropped out of use. \*Japanese, German, Albanian, French, and Spanish, if anybody cares. And nobody believes me when I swear that Spanish was harder than everything except Japanese but that’s a hijack for another thread. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160/60 "2005-01-19T11:25:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I think the best example is still, “Y’all been drinkin’. All y’all been drinkinn’.” It’s still plural in both usages. “Y’all been drinkin’” implies that not just the addressee, but others in his group have been drinking. "_All y’all_ been drinkin’ " would be used to indicate that _every member_ of the addressee’s group has been drinking. If it were only the addressee who’d been drinking, the statement would be “You(‘ve) been drinkin’.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-yall-use-yall/285160.md?page=4)