Second Person

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What Is Second Person?

The term "second person" refers to the speaker's audience (i.e.,"you"). For example:

• I am speaking to you about her.
("I" is the speaker, so "I" is in the first person. "You" is the person being spoken to, so "you" is in the second person. "Her" is in the third person.)

"Second Person" Explained

"Second person" is another way of saying "you." In other words, it is the person or people being spoken to. For example:

• The teacher is speaking to you.
• The policeman is looking at you.
(Even though this example is about looking, the speaker is talking to "you.")
• You are a star!

The idea of first person, second person, and third person becomes clearer when they are explained together. All the personal pronouns (i.e., "I," "you," "he," "she," "it," "we," "they") are grouped into one of three categories:

• First person: "I" and "we"
• Second person: "you"
• Third person: "he/she/it" and "they"

Note: First person refers to the speaker himself or a group that includes the speaker (i.e.," I," "me," "we," and "us"). Third person refers to everybody else (e.g., "he," "him," "she," "her," "it," "they," "them"), including all other nouns (e.g., "Bill," "Russians," "termite," "lions").

Second Person in Grammar

Examples of Second Person Pronouns in Different Cases

Here are the second person pronouns in the subjective case, the objective case, and the possessive case:

Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case Possessive Determiner	Possessive Case Possessive Pronouns
Second Person Singular	you Example: You left early.	you Example: She likes you.	your Example: That was your fault.	yours These are yours.
Second Person Plural	you Example: You left early.	you Example: She likes you.	your Example: That was your fault.	yours These are yours.

Note: There is no difference in how the "second person singular" and "second person plural" forms are written. We have to rely on context to tell us whether "you" means one person or more than one.

First, Second, and Third Person Pronouns

The table below shows the first, second, and third person pronouns. The second person pronouns are shaded.

Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case Possessive Determiner	Possessive Case Possessive Pronouns
First Person Singular	I	me	my	mine
Second Person Singular	you	you	your	yours
Third Person Singular	he/she/it	him/her/it	his/her/its	his/hers/its
First Person Plural	we	us	our	ours
Second Person Plural	you	you	your	yours
Third Person Plural	they	them	their	theirs

Why the Second Person Is Important

In business writing, the first person adds a personal touch, and the third person adds formality. In storytelling, the first person makes it easier to engage your readers, and the third person affords the author a God-like status (i.e., as an all-seeing narrator). There are no such traits with the second person. It's the least interesting of the three person categories from a writing perspective. Nevertheless, here are three good reasons to care about the second person.

(Reason 1) Be mindful of the difference between "yourself" and "yourselves."

The second-person personal pronoun "you" has two forms: a singular form ("you are") and a plural form ("you are"). Hang on! Nothing changed! They are both "you are"! That's true. But, it's not always true. Look at these examples:

• You can help yourself to the cakes.
(Here, "you" is singular.)
• You can help yourselves to the cakes.
(Here, "you" is plural.)

(Reason 3) The subject of an order is "you."

The subject of an imperative sentence (i.e. one that gives an order) is "you." However, most of the time, the "you" is omitted. The "you" is said to be "understood" (i.e., is present without being present). For example:

• Call me if you need help.
(There is an understood "you" in this order.)
• [You] Call me if you need help.
(This is how we treat it, even though we don't say the "you.")

Why does this matter? This point matters because you can only use "yourself" or "yourselves" with an imperative verb (i.e., an order). You can't use "myself." This is a common mistake.

• Contact your line manager or myself if you have any questions.
(You can't use "myself" with "you" (even an understood "you" in an order). This should be "me" not "myself.")

Read more about this writing mistake on the "reflexive pronouns" page.

(Reason 3) Understanding the person categories is useful for learning a foreign language.

Teachers and reference books all use the person categories to explain how grammar works (particularly verbs). So, if you are learning a foreign language or teaching English, it is essential to get comfortable with the person categories. Here are some examples of how the person categories appear in language books:

Person	English	German	French	Spanish
First Person Singular	I play	ich spiele	je joue	yo juego
Second Person Singular	you play	du spielst	tu joues	tu juegas
Third Person Singular	he/she/it plays	er/sie/es spielt	il/elle joue	el/ella/usted juega
First Person Plural	we play	wir spielen	nous jouons	nosotros jugamos
Second Person Plural	you play	ihr spielt	vous jouez	vosotros jagais
Third Person Plural	they play	Sie spielen	ils/ells jouent	ellos/ellas/ustedes juegan

Key Point

Video Lesson

Watch a video summarizing "grammatical person" (i.e., first person, second person, and third person)

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