# You have started referring to yourself **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 19, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633 "2008-10-19T12:16:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Claptree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Claptree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claptree)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/21 "2008-10-20T18:27:05Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Has he been drinking when you do this? The idea came to you on the bus, hours before you started drinking. Once you started drinking, the game inexplicably became even more fun. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/22 "2008-10-20T18:32:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Choose Your Own Adventure” books were all written in the second person. Role playing game narrations sometimes use the second person. (I guess a Choose Your Own Adventure book is a form of RPG.) > > Even an internal monologue wouldn’t really be the second person if it wasn’t consistently used throughout the work; revealing an inner monologue is just a form of dialogue, and dialogue is frequently in the second person, but doesn’t change the perspective of the text. Heh, I should’ve been more clear; I meant referring to _yourself_ in the second person, not use of second person in general. RPGs wouldn’t count, because ostensibly your actions are being narrated to you by an unnamed third party. I’m thinking the reason the OP threw so many people is because self-reference from this perspective is almost never done. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/23 "2008-10-21T12:59:36Z")
You recently read a book written in this way, called Behind Everyman by David Israel. > **[Behind Everyman: A Novel for Guys and the Women Who Rescue Them: Israel, David:...](https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Everyman-Novel-Women-Rescue/dp/0345476603)** > > Behind Everyman: A Novel for Guys and the Women Who Rescue Them \[Israel, David\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Behind Everyman: A Novel for Guys and the Women Who Rescue Them ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/24 "2008-10-21T18:34:45Z")
N. Sane prefers to refer to herself in the third person. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/25 "2008-10-22T02:26:17Z")
The Koxinga are wondering how They would feel if They were to refer to Themselves in third person plural, capitalized. The Koxinga also feel that inclusion of the definite article makes for that nice added touch of weirdness. 'Cause that’s the way They roll. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/26 "2008-10-22T12:33:20Z")
My 2-year old niece refers to herself in the third person singular with the definite article. “Don’t touch The [Niece’s name]'s toys!” ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/27 "2008-10-22T12:36:11Z")
> [@Martha\_Medea](#): > > My 2-year old niece refers to herself in the third person singular with the definite article. “Don’t touch The [Niece’s name]'s toys!” They feel that is very amusing. Their daughter does much the same. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/28 "2008-10-22T12:45:08Z")
You know I had done something really similar to this once before in college, where I had decided to create a series of linked short stories for creative writing, and the perspective would change from story to story. I started out in the first person, but as the story continued, Roosh started to go into the 3rd person for the next story, and it was pretty cool, but then he switched things up and you became a part of the story, and that’s when it really got fun, because you made it the 2nd person, and the characters felt uncomfortable but they weren’t sure why. And then to top it all off, you made the 4th and final story a jumbled mishmash of all the perspectives colliding into one single reality. It was really a lot of fun for us. You should go read that story again. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633/29 "2008-10-22T13:53:45Z")
> [@RoOsh](#): > > It was really a lot of fun for us. > You should go read that story again. We did and you didn’t but she thought he had already done so, but then they said he hadn’t. Now it’s down to us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-started-referring-to-yourself/468633.md?page=1)