You origins (2nd person pronoun)

From A+ Club Lesson Planner & Study Guide

Origins of the 2nd person pronoun "you"

  • thee, thou, thy, thine, ye
  • useful for Shakespeare "you" translations

"You" origins[edit | edit source]

  • Old English origin of "you"
    • from Old English "thou" (dative and accusative cases)
    • or "ye" (objective case)
  • PIE origin of "you"
    • second person singular: *tege- (from which "thou" and "tu" are derived)
    • second person plural: *yu
  • transition from "thee" to "you"
    • in Middle English, the second person plural form merged with the singular
      • 2nd person plural was original used for both plural "you" and out of respect to a superior "(thy")
      • 2nd person plural came to be used to show equal status, thus as a courtesy

Cases of "you" origins[edit | edit source]

2nd person case Nominative

(subject)

Indicative

(a command)

Accusative

(also "objective" for direct object)

Dative

(indirect object)

Genetive

(possessive determiner)

Possessive Pronoun Reflexive
singular plural singular plural singular plural singular plural singular plural singular plural
you singular or

plural

you go you [all] go You listen! You [all] listen! he spoke to you he speaks to you [all] he gives you a horse he gives you (all) a horse do it yourself do it yourselves
your / yours singular / plural your book [all] your book yours yours
thou singular subjective (informal) thou goest
thee singular objective he speeketh to thee he givest thee a horse
thy singular possessive thy kingdom doest it thy self
thine singular possessive of words that begin w/ a vowel thine apple thine thine own self
ye plural subjective

(or singular formal)

Ye goeth

or My Lord, ye goeth

Ye listen! Hear ye! youres
  • note: the Wikipedia chart on "Personal Pronouns in Middle English" distinguishes between:
    • thy as "possessive determiner"
      • possessive determiner = indicates possession or belonging
        • I like your shoes
    • and "thine" as "possessive pronoun
      • Yours are as good as mine
    • here, we keep "thine" as possessive determiner if the noun it possesses begins with a vowel, so,
      • "thy" precedes consonant
        • thy kingdom
      • "thine" precedes a noun
        • thine apple
    • "thine" is otherwise, as per Wikipedia, a 2nd person singular possessive pronoun
      • it is yours = it is thine

Sources[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://school4schools.wiki/w/index.php?title=You_origins_(2nd_person_pronoun)&oldid=3665"