Y'All
My Latin teacher, Mrs. Hightower, was from Texas. When she wanted the second person plural form of the verb, she would say "You all" as opposed to the singular, which was just "you".
"You all" somehow stuck with me, and often my classes ask me if I am from the South despite my utter lack of an accent. I am in agreement with Mrs. Hightower that there is no fast effective pronoun for you plural in English. Sure, you can say "all of you", but it's not as simple as saying "vous" instead of "tu." ( I am brushing up on the French for the trip to Paris.)
The other day I was sitting with my friend Bill talking about my class, and I told him about my use of "you all." Bill, who lived for a large portion of his life in various parts of the South, said, "'Y'all' is singular."
"If 'y'all' is singular," I asked, "what is the plural form?"
Bill, without moving his eyes from the parade of Upper East Siders in front of us, said, "All y'all."
Bad Bunni posted at
7/29/2004 10:57:00 AM |