In British English, how do you indicate "you (plural)?"

Posted by wheninrome5000@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 68 comments

In English the word "you" can obviously refer to you plural or singular

In the United States, many use "you guys", "folks," [ a word banned on this subreddit that ends in all]" or more rarely "youse" or "yinz" to indicate you (plural)

What is done in the various forms of British English, including dialects?

And how do you make clear that you mean you (singular), ie "do you [but not your annoying spouse] want to come over?

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Total_Rules@reddit

We say you because it’s the plural form.

When we want the singular we say thou so there’s really no confusion at all.

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TSC-99@reddit

You = correct ✅

Youse = incorrect ❌ but commonplace

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TSC-99@reddit

No it’s not 🤣 It’s used a lot but it’s not precise grammar.

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Brickie78@reddit

My Suffolk grandparents used "you together" which was separable. It wasn't "are you together going to the beach?" but "Are you going to the beach together?"

Apparently this caused some awkwardness when my aunt brought her new boyfriend to stay and my grandma asked if they were both turning in for the night "are you going to bed together?"

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LichenTheMood@reddit

You all or you lot.

Though admittedly other plurals are preferable most of the time

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xxbtmxx@reddit

you lot or you all. 'Are you all going out?"

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combedcentaur7@reddit

Singular, You. Plural, yous innit bruv

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Sin_nombre__@reddit

Yous in Scotland or at least parts of Scotland.

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In Northern Ireland, it would be yous/youse or yousins. We're similar to the Scots in that our locally used words can bamboozle those that are not from here, so for clarity, the word yousens is a bit of a linguistic corruption of yous ones or something along those lines.

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Ok-Rain6295@reddit

You/you guys or y’all because it’s FUN.

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Strange_Recording931@reddit

it’s “ye” pronunciation “yee” - we still use it in everyday Irish- English vernacular

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spynie55@reddit

I know nobody asked, some people will already know, those that don’t won’t care and I’ll probably get it wrong, but I can’t help but explain that ‘you’ has always been plural, English used to have a singular form ‘thou’. (They worked like vous and tu in French). Thou got used for addressing God in an early bible translation and then dropped out of regular use.

And the correct answer is yous.

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Brickie78@reddit

Which of course means that the "thou" form has ended up being regarded as more formal and respectful.

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Sure-Butterscotch290@reddit

Youse, yousins or yins/yoons in NI. Depends on the context and accent I think

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YodaShagsDarthVader@reddit

Despite being Southern "youse" somehow found its way into my vocabulary growing up and has stayed there.

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Vivid_Employment8635@reddit

I would say you guys, or if it was just two people I'd just say you two or you and (name).

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Intelligent-Car-2982@reddit

Oi you lot

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TalynRahl@reddit

Oi, cunts!

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catmadwoman@reddit

You lot. All of ya.

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cuccir@reddit

I grew up with 'youse' in Cumbria, but it has become more like 'yuzz' living in North East England

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D0wnb0at@reddit

South Yorkshire here. Yuz is here too. Just listen to anything Devvo has ever said.

“Yuzzzz fuckin dik-ed”

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OkPea5819@reddit

What a throwback 😂

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jolie_j@reddit

Depends on the part of the country. Many parts is just “you” or “you” with some additional context (you all, you guys, you lot, all of you…)

Some parts of the country say yous (more of a z sound at the end) but that would sound odd if it’s not your usual thing to say - it goes very nicely with the regional accents where they say it, but you wouldn’t see it in the kings English!

I personally type y’all in my messages to mates, but that’s just me and people call me out for being American

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BeatificBanana@reddit

I tend to be specific when I'm referring to multiple people to avoid confusion. E.g "Do you and Bob want to come over on Saturday?" "Do you and the kids want to meet up at the weekend?"

You can also say "you guys" or "you all" (never y'all).

In some regions of the UK, people say "yous" when speaking to more than one person, however it's not common across the whole country.

As for how I would avoid inviting someone's annoying spouse, I'm afraid I don't know because I like all my friends' spouses so I have never wanted to exclude them. It's just a problem I've never thought about!

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redseaaquamarine@reddit

You lot ("Are you lot ready to go now")

Just you ("Would just you be available for a chat later?)

Remember, there are regional variations throughout the nation.

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Eukonidor_Of_Arisia@reddit

Who the fuck cares.

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lady_is_a_one@reddit

Jokes aside “you” can be both singular and plural in English. So “you” can refer to a group.

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Mediocre_mum26@reddit

Oi 🤷🏼‍♀️

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Left-Yak-1090@reddit

In Scotland (in my area anyway) it tends to be "yous"

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wheninrome5000@reddit (OP)

didnt know that

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spoonyone87@reddit

Or if you like them "yous cunts"

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OKdenRuck@reddit

Yous

Shitheads

Dickheads

Cunts

Take your pick...

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GlitchingGecko@reddit

you all (for a mixed group)
you guys (for males)
maybe, you ladies (for females), if I know them well enough... I feel like it's a word that some people might react negatively to?

I'd use their name? So, "Do you want to come over, Anna, so we can start looking at bridal magazines?" or, "Do you want to come over, Steve, and help me fit that RR unit?" for example. It'd be too rude to be in a group of people and ask one person specifically with no 'reason'.

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noodlyman@reddit

Purely by context. Maybe "you all" or "all of you" or something if needed

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xian0@reddit

There's a tone of voice for stressing the individual "you". "We aren't sure if we can pass the test" -> "well you could pass, but it is difficult".

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Sirlacker@reddit

It's the worst(s) that come after that tell you whether it's singular or plural.

If I send a message "Do you want to come round?" I'm implying that means just the person its directed at.

If I wanted them and their annoying spouse to come round I would word it "Do you both want to come round?"

But then it can get a little trickier and sometimes the context plays the role.

For example "I can get some tickets for the match, do you want me to get some?". Well I know spouse doesn't like sport, so that would imply just the person I'm sending the message to.

If I know they both like concerts "I can get tickets for the show, do you want me to get some?" Then it would imply both.

If it's simply a just "Do you want to come over?" Then personally I'd assume that meant me, without any context and if I was unsure I'd be asking about partner.

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ImaginationInside610@reddit

Down south it’s always ‘you’ but if you want to be specific youd say ‘just’ you, or ‘you two’ or ‘all of you’

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dimap443@reddit

You lot

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OnlymyOP@reddit

you or you both

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Much-Beyond2@reddit

You, but with context.. otherwise something more specific like 'all of you', 'both of you', 'you lot' etc.. you also hear variation of 'yous' but not so much in Southern England.

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Relative-Tea3944@reddit

cunts

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c00ble@reddit

"you man"

(Gender neutral)

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Competitive_Test6697@reddit

Youse

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Skanedog@reddit

You cunts

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RBisoldandtired@reddit

In Scotland you’ll get “Yous/Youse”

“Whit youse up tae?”

“Where youse headed after the pub shuts?”

“Where do youse want to go for lunch?”

“The fuck are youse on about?!

Etc.

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skibbin@reddit

Fuckers

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Timely_Egg_6827@reddit

I'd hope they'd work out the context from he rest of the sentence. I do sometimes use Scottish and that has yous as the plural you.

In the last, I'd probably just say I really want to see you on your own. X will just find our chat boring.

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h8d7@reddit

Yous

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dennis3282@reddit

Are other partners invited?

If not, just be direct. "Having the guys over, do you fancy it?"

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