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What is the difference between you and we?

you | we |

As pronouns the difference between you and we

is that you is the people spoken, or written to, as an object while we is the speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed). This is the exclusive we.

As determiners the difference between you and we

is that you is the individual or group spoken or written to while we is the speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person.

As a verb you

is to address (a person) using the pronoun you, rather than thou.

you

English

Alternative forms

* ye * ya, yah, yer, yeh, y', yo, yu (informal or eye dialect) * -cha * -ja * u * yoo (eye dialect) * yew * youe, yow, yowe (obsolete)

Pronoun

  • (object pronoun) The people spoken, or written to, as an object.
  • * 1611 , Bible , Authorized (King James) Version. Genesis XLII:
    • And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you , saying, Ye are spies [...].
  • * (William Shakespeare), Richard III :
    • If I may counsaile you, some day or two / Your Highnesse shall repose you at the Tower [...].
  • * 1611 , Bible , Authorized (King James) Version. Genesis XIX:
    • And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city.
  • * 1975 , Joseph Nazel, Death for Hire :
    • You'd better get you a gun and kill him before he kills you or somebody.
  • (object pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as an object. (Replacing thee; originally as a mark of respect.)
  • * (Thomas Malory), Le Morte Darthur , Book VIII:
    • I charge you , as ye woll have my love, that ye warne your kynnesmen that ye woll beare that day the slyve of golde uppon your helmet.
  • (subject pronoun) The people spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Replacing ye.)
    • Both of you should get ready now.
    You are all supposed to do as I tell you.
  • (subject pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Originally as a mark of respect.)
  • * (Geoffrey Chaucer), "The Clerk's Tale", Canterbury Tales , Ellesmere manuscript (c. 1410):
    • certes lord / so wel vs liketh yow / And al youre werk / and euere han doon / þat we / Ne koude nat vs self deuysen how / We myghte lyuen / in moore felicitee [...].
  • * 1814 , (Jane Austen), Mansfield Park :
    • You' are right, Fanny, to protest against such an office, but ' you need not be afraid.
  • (indefinite personal pronoun) Anyone, one; an unspecified individual or group of individuals (as subject or object).
  • * 2001 , Polly Vernon, The Guardian , 5 May 2001:
    • You' can't choose your family, your lovers are difficult and volatile, but, oh, ' you can choose your friends - so doesn't it make much more sense to live and holiday with them instead?

    Usage notes

    * Originally, , respectively.) * In some forms of English, are all but nonexistent. * Although , or youse (though not all of these are completely equivalent or considered Standard English). * The pronoun is usually omitted in imperative sentences, but need not be. In affirmative imperatives, it may be included before the verb (You go right ahead''; ''You stay out of it''); in negative imperatives, it may be included either before the ''don't'', or, more commonly, after it (''Don't you dare go in there''; ''Don't you start now ). * See for other personal pronouns.

    Synonyms

    * *: thou *: ye *: yer (UK eye dialect) * *: all of you (plural) *: you all *: you + number *: ye *: yous/youse *: y'all, all y'all (Southern US) *: ya'll (AAVE) *: you-uns (Midwestern US and Appalachia) *: yinz *: you guys/you gals *: you lot (UK) *: allyou (Caribbean) *: yer (UK eye dialect) * , ye, to you, to thee, to ye * ye, to you, to ye, to you all * (one) one, people, they, them

    Derived terms

    * you're

    See also

    (English personal pronouns)

    Determiner

    (en determiner)
  • The individual or group spoken or written to.
    • Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus?
  • Used before epithets for emphasis.
    • You idiot!

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To address (a person) using the pronoun you'', rather than ''thou .

    • Statistics

    * 100 English basic words English personal pronouns English plural pronouns English second person pronouns English three-letter words 1000 English basic words ----

    we

    English

    Pronoun

  • (personal) The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed).
  • (personal) The speaker(s)/writer(s) and the person(s) being addressed.
  • (personal) The speaker/writer alone.
  • (personal)
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Stephen P. Lownie], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/david-m-pelz David M. Pelz
    • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Stents to Prevent Stroke , passage=As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.}}

    Determiner

    (en determiner)
  • The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person.
    • We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different.

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * ew 100 English basic words 1000 English basic words English first person pronouns English personal pronouns English plural pronouns English terms with homophones English two-letter words ----