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What is the difference between you and yours?

you | yours |

As pronouns the difference between you and yours

is that you is the people spoken, or written to, as an object while yours is that which belongs to you (singular); the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.

As a determiner you

is the individual or group spoken or written to.

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 ----

    yours

    English

    (wikipedia yours)

    Pronoun

  • That which belongs to you (singular); the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.
  • :
  • That which belongs to you (plural); the possessive second-person plural pronoun used without a following noun.
  • *
  • *:“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are'' pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling ''à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”
  • :

    • Usage notes

    * In British English the adverb almost invariably follows the word yours'' at the end of a letter; in most dialects of American English it usually precedes it. As a general rule, ''sincerely'' is only employed if the name of the recipient is already known to the writer; a letter begun with ''Dear Sir'' or ''Dear Madam'' finishes with ''faithfully''. ''Yours'' on its own and ''yours ever are less formal than the other forms.

    Derived terms

    * up yours * what's yours * you'll get yours * yours truly * you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

    See also

    (English personal pronouns)

    References