> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Why English needs “y’all” - URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/yall/ - Published: 2025-05-21T23:22:14.000Z - Updated: 2025-05-21T23:22:14.000Z - Description: Why doesn’t English just have a plural “you” like other languages? - Author: Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D. - Tags: Newsletter, English, American English, dialects, pronouns, historical linguistics English is a weird language for a lot of reasons, but today I want to talk about why English doesn’t have a standard plural for *you*. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* In the U.S., the South generally says *y’all*, while the rest of the country generally says *you guys*: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-18.png) But this papers over a lot of regional variation. 10% of the country uses *you* for both singular and plural, another 10% use *you all*, *yous*/*youse* is common in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh lays claim to *yinz* (a shortening from *you ones*). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-19.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-20.png) (These awesome maps are from the book [*Speaking American: How y’all, youse, and you guys talk: A visual guide*](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), by Joshua Katz. You can read my review of the book below.) [Speaking American: How y’all, youse, and you guys talkA beautiful and engaging coffee table book of 122 dialect maps showing how different regions of the U.S. say different things. A wonderful illustration of dialect diversity in the United States, this book is sure to spark great conversations. A must-have for any language lover.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-37.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Speaking-American-2.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/speaking-american-2e/) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-21.png)](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) So why all the variation? Well, English used to have a plural *you*—and that word was…*you*. The word *you* was originally **plural**, not singular. Before that, the singular was *thou* (for subjects), *thee* (for objects), or *thy/thine* (for possessives). The reason *you* became singular is actually due to French. In French *tu* means ‘you (sg.)’ and *vous* means ‘you (pl.)’, but *vous* is also used for politeness, as a form of respect. After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, French had a huge influence on the English language. So English speakers started borrowing that pattern into English and using *you* as a polite way to address one person, and eventually that just became the default way of addressing one person, and it was no longer used to address multiple people. What’s cool is that the verb *be* got pulled along with it into the singular too. So it used to be this is how you’d conjugate the verb *be*: ![I am, thou art, he/she/it is, we are, you are, they are](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-22.png) Notice how the plural is always *are*. Well that plural verb got pulled along into the singular too, and now it looks like this: ![I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, ???, they are](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-23.png) But of course this created a gap, and ever since then English speakers have been trying to settle on a new way of saying ‘you (pl.)’. And that, in a nutshell, is why English needed to create *y’all* in the first place! ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: ⚙️ how language works and changes 🌍 surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things 🗣️ language profiles ℹ️ explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ⭐ reviews of books and other media. 🆕 a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* 💡 The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)