TransWikia.com

Suggestions to indicate the second person pronoun is singular?

English Language & Usage Asked by thinkpad22 on August 12, 2021

Do you have any suggestions to clearly show that the second person pronoun is singular, not simply basing it on context? For example, one could use "you man" or "you one," but it may at times be very artificial, forced, and unnatural. I would appreciate hearing your ideas!

One Answer

One way consists in using the pronoun "yourself" in an apposition.

  • Are you, yourself, committed to the goal of taking steps to end this situation?

There is the possibility of using a term of address.

  • You, Edward, will go to the mountain and prepare the chalet.
  • You, Mister Hill, are being congratulated by the manager.

Another way is the use of a special phrase, such as "of all …", but then something is added to the meaning; therefore, if this added meaning is relevant, there is no problem as you can kill two birds with one stone.

  • You, of all the men in the group, decided that this was the right thing to do.

  • You, alone, are responsible.

Answered by LPH on August 12, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP