Word forms: plural youslanguage note: You is the second person pronoun. You can refer to one or more people and is used as the subject of a verb or the objectof a verb or preposition.
1. pronoun
A speaker or writer uses you to refer to the person or people that they are talking or writing to. It is possible to use you before a noun to make it clear which group of people you are talking to.
When I saw you across the room I knew I'd met you before.
You two seem very different to me.
I could always talk to you about anything in the world.
What is alternative health care? What can it do for you?
What you kids need is more exercise.
2. pronoun
In spoken English and informal written English, you is sometimes used to refer to people in general.
Getting good results gives you confidence.
In those days you did what you were told.
3. plural pronoun
In some dialects of English, yous is sometimes used instead of 'you' when talking to two or more people.
'Yous two are no' gettin' paid,' he said. 'Ye're too lazy!'
English Easy Learning GrammarPersonal pronounsPersonal pronouns are used as the subject, object, or complement in a clause. Theyare commonly found taking the place of a noun phrase when it is mentioned ... Read more
you in British English
(juː, unstressed jʊ)
pronoun(subjective or objective)
1.
refers to the person addressed or to more than one person including the person or persons addressed but not includingthe speaker
you know better
the culprit is among you
2. Also: one
refers to an unspecified person or people in general
you can't help but wonder
3. mainly US
a dialect word for yourself or yourselves
you should get you a place of your own
yourself
noun
4. informal
the personality of the person being addressed or something that expresses it
that hat isn't really you
5. you know what
▶ USAGE See note at me1
Word origin
Old English ēow, dative and accusative of gēye1; related to Old Saxon eu, Old High German iu, Gothic izwis
you in American English
(ju)
pronounWord forms: pluralyou
1.
the person to whom one is speaking or writing: personal pronoun in the second person (sing. & pl.)
you is the nominative and objective form (sing. & pl.), yours the possessive (sing. & pl.), and yourself (sing.) and yourselves (pl.) the reflexive and intensive; your is the possessive pronominal adjective
2.
any person
equivalent in sense to indefinite one
you can never be sure!
Word origin
ME you, ou, eow < OE eow, dat. & acc. pl. of ge, ye2, akin to Du u < IE base *iw-, you > Sans yuvám, you
Examples of 'you' in a sentence
you
This gives you a real sense of freedom.
The Sun (2017)
You need a person to give you the possibility to play.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is tough to win games when you concede two penalties and get a man sent off!
The Sun (2016)
What is less certain is whether you will know about him from his paintings.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
You worry about going out alone and what other people think of you.
The Sun (2016)
Go out into the real world where you can meet a genuine partner.
The Sun (2016)
You might be amazed by a person flirting with you yet it soon turns to love.
The Sun (2016)
Not that you would know from watching the colliery at work that it was condemned.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You want your sole focus to be on the people you are showing around.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You also have two current accounts and like being able to choose which one to pay your cheque into.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The increase in real income causes you to purchase fewer greeting cards.
Miller, Roger LeRoy & Fishe, Raymond P. H. Microeconomics: Price Theory in Practice (1995)
Which person do you most admire admire?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Make sure you talk to two or three companies before deciding.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
You see people doing it in our stores.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
What you think of as hardships at the time can actually make you a better person.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
English football could learn a thing or two from you.
The Sun (2011)
Make sure you have at least thirty minutes when you know you will be free of interruption.
MacEoin, Beth Healthy By Nature (1994)
You know what people who go to the theatre are like.
The Sun (2012)
What do you call a person who conducts himself like that?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Can you give two examples from your own life?
Goshgarian, Gary Exploring language (6th edn) (1995)
How could you know anything of the matter?
Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
The way you assess people gives you the edge when there are deals to be done.
The Sun (2014)
Think whether she is really the sort of person you want as a close friend.
The Sun (2013)
But you have no right to demand that as you two are apart now.
The Sun (2015)
It helps you understand what you are asking people to do.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
You set yourself clear goals and make real progress now you trust your judgement and rely less on others.
The Sun (2014)
You get real extremes of character.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It's as close to playing the real thing as you could expect on a console game.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
you
British English: you /juː; jʊ/ PRONOUN
You means the person or people that someone is talking or writing to.
Can I help you?
American English: you
Arabic: أَنْتَ
Brazilian Portuguese: você
Chinese: 您
Croatian: ti
Czech: vy
Danish: du
Dutch: jij
European Spanish: tú
Finnish: sinä tai te
French: tu
German: du
Greek: εσύ
Italian: tu
Japanese: あなたは
Korean: 당신
Norwegian: du
Polish: ty
European Portuguese: você
Romanian: tu
Russian: вы
Latin American Spanish: usted
Swedish: du
Thai: ท่าน พวกท่าน
Turkish: sen
Ukrainian: ти
Vietnamese: bạn
All related terms of 'you'
thou
Thou is an old-fashioned , poetic , or religious word for 'you' when you are talking to only one person. It is used as the subject of a verb .
d'you
D'you is a shortened form of 'do you' or 'did you', used in spoken English .
you'd
You'd is the usual spoken form of 'you had', especially when 'had' is an auxiliary verb .
you'll
You'll is the usual spoken form of 'you will'.
you're
You're is the usual spoken form of 'you are'.
you've
You've is the usual spoken form of 'you have', especially when 'have' is an auxiliary verb .
see you
' See you ', ' be seeing you ', and ' see you later ' are ways of saying goodbye to someone when you expect to meet them again soon .
you-all
a US, esp Southern , word for you, used esp when addressing more than one person
you bet
You use ' You bet ' or ' you bet your life ' to say yes in an emphatic way or to emphasize a reply or statement .
you get
You can use you get instead of 'there is' or 'there are' to say that something exists , happens , or can be experienced .
you see
You can say ' you see ' when you are explaining something to someone, to encourage them to listen and understand .
you win
You say ' you win ' when you have been having a slight argument with someone and you are indicating that you agree to do what they want or that you accept their suggestion , even though you do not really want to.
after you
please go, enter , etc, before me
bless you!
You can say ' bless you ' to someone who has just sneezed.
get you!
You can say get you to show that you think someone is acting as if they are more important, rich, or successful than they really are.
mark you
You can say mark you to emphasize and draw attention to something you have just said .
mind you
an expression qualifying a previous statement
thank you
a conventional expression of gratitude
you beaut
a person or thing that is outstanding or distinctive
you know
You use you know to emphasize or to draw attention to what you are saying .
you mean
You use ' you mean ' in a question to check that you have understood what someone has said .
you what
People say ' you what? ' to indicate that they do not believe or accept the remark that someone has just made, or that they have not heard or understood it properly.
I ask you
If you say ' I ask you ', you are emphasizing how much you disapprove of someone or something.
mind (you)
You use mind you to emphasize a piece of information that you are adding , especially when the new information explains what you have said or contrasts with it. Some people use mind in a similar way .
you beauty
the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delight the senses and please the mind
you betcha!
absolutely , certainly
you bet (you)!
certainly !
put-you-up
a spare bed with a folding mattress or legs for ease of storage when not in use
you'll see
You can say ' You'll see ' to someone if they do not agree with you about what you think will happen in the future , and you believe that you will be proved right .
as you were
a military command to withdraw an order, return to the previous position, etc
good on you
well done, well said , etc: a term of congratulation
how are you?
what is your state of health ?
how dare you
You say ' how dare you ' when you are very shocked and angry about something that someone has done .
if you like
You say if you like when you are making or agreeing to an offer or suggestion in a casual way .
if you must
You say ' if you must ' when you know that you cannot stop someone doing something that you think is wrong or stupid .
if you want
You say if you want when you are making or agreeing to an offer or suggestion in a casual way.
not with you
not able to grasp or follow what you are saying
you can talk
you don't have to worry about doing a particular thing yourself
you-know-who
a person whose name one does not want to say , but who is known to the person to whom one is speaking
you name it
You say you name it , usually after or before a list , to indicate that you are talking about a very wide range of things.
as you please
You can use as you please in expressions such as bold as you please or casually as you please or charming as you please in order to emphasize what you are saying .
believe you me
You can use believe you me to emphasize that what you are saying is true .
bully for you
well done! bravo !
don't you dare
If you say to someone ' don't you dare ' do something, you are telling them not to do it and letting them know that you are angry .
do you suppose
You can use ' do you suppose ' to introduce a question when you want someone to give their opinion about something, although you know that they are unlikely to have any more knowledge or information about it than you.
if you please
If you please is sometimes used as a very polite and formal way of attracting someone's attention or of asking them to do something.
I'll show you
You can say ' I'll show you ' to threaten or warn someone that you are going to make them admit that they are wrong.
just/you watch
You say to someone ' you watch ' or ' just watch ' when you are predicting that something will happen , and you are very confident that it will happen as you say.
never you mind
You use never you mind to tell someone not to ask about something because it is not their concern or they should not know about it.