One of the teachers I trained a few years ago used y’all for singular and y’all y’all for plural. He also used y’all’s and y’all y’all’s for the possessive forms. I hope he didn’t teach that to his students.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
Nice link, Geoff. I’d argue with this: “Spanish speakers will use "vosotros" or "ustedes" (the former is more informal while the latter is more courteous)”: the fact is, “vosotros,” though de rigueur in Spain, is not used at all in many Latin American countries (& they don’t need it). But it is nice & nerdy to know that in countries where both are used, there’s a distinction.
Hey, they didn’t mention “yiz’l”? PA/ Philly talk of yore, don’t know if it’s still around. I have yet to meet anyone who says “yinz” but then I don’t know many from western PA. Still hear “youse” now & then, from those descended from Brooklynites.
As a gal, I like the idea of “you all” (or y’all) replacing “you guys,” but I think it’s a lost cause. I think what’s actually happening is that “guys” is becoming unisex!
Posts: 2605 | Location: As they say at 101.5FM: Not New York... Not Philadelphia... PROUD TO BE NEW JERSEY!
I don't speak Spanish, but have been exposed to it so much that I recognize lots of it. Never have I heard, "vosotros," whether from Spaniards of New World speakers.
Don't forget about the Charleston yacht maker who threw a party and said, "Yawl come!"
