Posted by Land on Thursday, November 06, 2003 at 11:32AM :
In Reply to: Re: it is pronounced Carry Y'all (ntxtns) posted by Arthur P. Bloom on Wednesday, November 05, 2003 at 7:37PM :
"You" is the singular. That's the pronoun to use when talking to an individual.
"Y'all" is always plural. "All y'all" is used for emphasis and/or to remove any doubt from individual members of a group's minds about whether or not the speaker is referring to him or her.
Imagine that you and two friends are out wheeling in your Power Wagons and come up to a big mudhole. A bystander says: "Y'all are going to get stuck." One of your friends might think, "He's talking to them, not to me." If he says, "All y'all are going to get stuck," he's taken that friend's wiggle room away. He's also given you a fine opportunity to prove your truck's abilities. :-) The number in y'all's group is the same whether referred to as "y'all" or "all y'all."
As a side note: a wave of the hand encompassing the entire group often accompanies the use of "all y'all."
:-)
Regards,
Chris
Seneca, SC, USA
'53 M37 w/w
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