Why does English have no plural you?

‘You” was originally plural, “thou” was the singular. There was a shift to using the plural as the polite form, eg. monarchs say ‘we’ for I, so gradually the ‘you’ plural began to be used by everybody.

Did English ever have a plural you?

English has always had a gender-neutral second-person plural pronoun: you. You has been the second-person plural pronoun since the days of Old English. You has always been everyone’s second-person plural, from Beowulf to both the Queens Elizabeth (or if you prefer, both the Queen Elizabeths).

What is the difference between you singular and you plural?

There is no difference between you (singular) and you (plural) when it comes to tenses: (plural)

When did English stop using thou?

In the 17th century, thou fell into disuse in the standard language, often regarded as impolite, but persisted, sometimes in an altered form, in regional dialects of England and Scotland, as well as in the language of such religious groups as the Society of Friends.

How did you become singular?

In Old English, which is the earliest form of the English language, you was only a second person plural object pronoun. Using the plural pronoun for one person was seen to be more polite. And then, around the 17th century, we dropped thee, thou and ye, and used simply you for all of those words.

When was singular you first used?

The Oxford English Dictionary traces singular they back to 1375, where it appears in the medieval romance William and the Werewolf. Except for the old-style language of that poem, its use of singular they to refer to an unnamed person seems very modern. Here’s the Middle English version: ‘Hastely hiȝed eche . . .

Why did English get rid of thou?

The pronoun that had previously been restricted to addressing more than one person (ye or you) started to see service as a singular pronoun. As a result, poor thou was downgraded, and was used primarily when referring to a person of lower social standing, such as a servant.

Why doesn’t English have a formal?

Why Doesn’t English Have Formal Pronouns? English is a Germanic language, meaning it evolved from the same language as German. Going all the way back to Old English, there were two second-person pronouns: þū for the singular “you” and ge for the plural “you.” Over time, these evolved into thou and ye, respectively.

What is the plural form of you in English?

English used to have two forms for you: Thou (object form thee) – singular, informal. You – plural (and singular formal). It was basically the same system you get in languages like French or German – a singular, informal form and a plural form that is also used to show respect or distance.

Why do we conjugate singular verbs in the plural form?

Because of this, you still conjugates verbs in the plural form even when it is singular; that is, you are is correct even if you is only referring to one person. Thee and thou used to be the singular forms.

How do you pluralize singular nouns that end in s?

In some cases, singular nouns ending in -s or -z, require that you double the -s or -z prior to adding the -es for pluralization. The nouns that end with ‑f or ‑fe, change the -f to ‑ve and add -s to form the plural form. The thieves were caught because of the CCTV footage.

How to spell plural nouns correctly?

The correct spelling of plurals usually depends on what letter the singular noun ends in. Most of the plural nouns in English takes the regular form. In order to make regular nouns plural, add ‑s to the end of the noun.