# “Y’all” vs. “All Y’all” **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 24, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448 "2020-02-24T19:04:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/21 "2020-02-24T21:56:18Z")
I’ve seldom heard anyone say “all y’all”, and have never heard y’all used as singular except on tv. I haven’t lived in my native East Tennessee for going on 30 years, but I still say y’all quite frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/22 "2020-02-24T22:22:23Z")
I use Y’all and all it variants daily. I use y’all as a singular on occasion. I’ll say to Mr.Wrekker as he’s leaving “Y’all stopping at the store?” Or I’ll say to the whole bunch “All y’all need to hush.” It’s just the way people talk down here. ‘You guys’ is rare. ‘You all’ might be said by a teacher. I’ve heard the odd ‘Ye’ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/23 "2020-02-24T22:34:54Z")
[YouTube channel “It’s a Southern Thing” lays it all out, y’all.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahkuYKI-PUg) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/24 "2020-02-24T23:06:07Z")
From my experience with relatives in Alabama: - **Y’all** can be singular or plural, typically with a reasonably small number of people - **All y’all** is for a larger group, often too many to quickly count or keep track of, especially if not everyone is present - **Shalom y’all** is reserved for my Jewish relatives in 'Bama. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/25 "2020-02-25T00:28:02Z")
Only “y’all” is really used where I am, among English-speaking people (I’m in a primarily French area.) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/26 "2020-02-25T00:55:31Z")
Almost never hear it at all. Have no idea what version should be used. The most common phrase used here is “you guys.” I don’t think there are different versions. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/27 "2020-02-25T03:12:47Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > - **Shalom y’all** is reserved for my Jewish relatives in 'Bama. This, I would have to assume, is just a colloquial shortening of **Shalom Y’Alleichem** , a conventional Jewish/Yiddish greeting and pen-name of a famous Jewish/Yiddish story-teller. (The corresponding Arabic greeting is very similar.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/28 "2020-02-25T03:41:00Z")
Y’all = “you” or “those in the group I am addressing” all’a y’all = “all of y’all” = “all of those in the group I am addressing” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/29 "2020-02-25T13:00:02Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This, I would have to assume, is just a colloquial shortening of **Shalom Y’Alleichem** , a conventional Jewish/Yiddish greeting and pen-name of a famous Jewish/Yiddish story-teller. (The corresponding Arabic greeting is very similar.) It’s possible, but I don’t think it matches up very well. I’ve never seen the expression written with a leading ‘Y’ nor pronounced that way. I’ve always heard the second word start with an “Ah” sound. The expression goes back quite a ways, at least WWII. I happened to wander into the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC when they had an exhibit entitled “Shalom Y’all” about Jewish life in the deep south and they never made the connection. > **[Shalom, Y'all: Images of Jewish Life in the American South](https://mjhnyc.org/exhibitions/shalom-yall-images-jewish-life-american-south/)** > > Shalom, Y'all revealed the story of the Southern Jewish experience through three distinct mediums: photographs, captions, and stories. Maybe the book offers more details. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/30 "2020-02-25T13:24:11Z")
I’m from Virginia, I use them this way **Y’all going**? Are you all leaving now? **All Y’all going**? Is everyone here going or are some people remaining behind? ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/31 "2020-02-25T15:06:14Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > From my experience with relatives in Alabama: > > - **Y’all** can be singular or plural, typically with a reasonably small number of people … Can you give me an example of the singular use of y’all and explain it to me like I’m a first grader. I’ve never been to Alabama except for one afternoon on Dauphin Island south of Mobile. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/32 "2020-02-25T15:21:51Z")
I’ve never heard Y’all used in the singular. I’ve always used it to mean more than one person, it’s just a contraction of you and all. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/33 "2020-02-25T15:47:54Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I’ve never heard Y’all used in the singular. I’ve always used it to mean more than one person, it’s just a contraction of you and all. In casual use, it’s just another way of saying “you”. “Y’all planning to go to the gym today?” could be directed at one or more. In the same way that I’ve heard and used “Are you guys going to the movies?” directed at a mixed group of men and women. Technically it’s wrong, but it’s a casual mode of speech. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/34 "2020-02-25T15:52:52Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Can you give me an example of the singular use of y’all and explain it to me like I’m a first grader. I’ve never been to Alabama except for one afternoon on Dauphin Island south of Mobile. There is a long-standing argument as to whether “y’all” is sometimes used in the singular. [You can read a little bit about it on the Wikipedia entry.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%27all#Singular_usage) Additional serious discussion about it [here](https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2009). > [@](#): > > As part of [a Memphis business communication survey], Tillery asked business professionals if they used yall in their oral business communications and if they ever used yall for just one person in those communications. This survey differs from SOD and SFP in that it explores language in a more formal context, so we might expect lower rates of acknowledgment. Even in this formal context, however, some 15% of the respondents (33 of 220) acknowledge using yall for just one person. ---
**Author:** ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/35 "2020-02-25T16:12:36Z")
Speaking as a 4th generation Texan, I would say that you would use “y’all” when **directly** addressing a group of more than one person and “all y’all” when talking **about** a larger group that includes the person(s) you are directly addressing. Examples: I’m talking directly to two people - “Y’all should come over next week.” I’m talking directly to two people but including other people in the statement - “All y’all should come over next week.” ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/36 "2020-02-25T17:33:02Z")
nm ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/37 "2020-02-25T17:38:23Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > In casual use, it’s just another way of saying “you”. > > “Y’all planning to go to the gym today?” could be directed at one or more. In the same way that I’ve heard and used “Are you guys going to the movies?” directed at a mixed group of men and women. Technically it’s wrong, but it’s a casual mode of speech. East Texas deputy stops a car full of young people. Looks at the driver, “Y’all been drinking.” Looks at the guys in the back, “All y’all been drinking”. I fall into dialect when I am around someone who speaks it, and I use y’all in the singular and in the plural. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/38 "2020-02-25T23:16:35Z")
So, would it be safe to say that there are three types of "all y’all"s: (1) the superplural “all y’all”, (2) the inclusive “all y’all”, and (3) the emphatic “all y’all”? And would everyone agree that there is no singular “all y’all”? ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/39 "2020-02-25T23:35:07Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > And would everyone agree that there is no singular “all y’all”? Surely. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448/40 "2020-02-25T23:59:44Z")
See post #2; if 15% (or whatever) of Tennessee business professionals today use a singular y’all, it’s only a matter of time before it happens to “all y’all” 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y-all-vs-all-y-all/848448.md?page=3)