Second Person: Explanation And Examples - Grammar Monster

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Second Person

What Is Second Person?

home▸sitemap▸A-Z grammar terms ▸second person The term "second person" refers to the speaker's audience (i.e.,"you"). For example:

I am speaking to you about her.

Table of Contents

"Second Person" Explained
Second Person in Grammar
Examples of Second Person Pronouns in Different Cases
First, Second, and Third Person Pronouns
Why the Second Person Is Important
Video Lesson
Test Time!

"Second Person" Explained

"Second person" is another way of saying "you." In other words, it is the person or people being spoken to. For example:

The teacher is speaking to you.
The policeman is looking at you.
You are a star!

The idea of first person, second person, and third person becomes clearer when they are explained together. All the personal pronouns (i.e., "I," "you," "he," "she," "it," "we," "they") are grouped into one of three categories:

First person: "I" and "we"
Second person: "you"
Third person: "he/she/it" and "they"

What is first, second, and third person in grammar?

Note: First person refers to the speaker himself or a group that includes the speaker (i.e.," I," "me," "we," and "us"). Third person refers to everybody else (e.g., "he," "him," "she," "her," "it," "they," "them"), including all other nouns (e.g., "Bill," "Russians," "termite," "lions").

Second Person in Grammar

Examples of Second Person Pronouns in Different Cases

Here are the second person pronouns in the subjective case, the objective case, and the possessive case:

Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive CasePossessive Determiner	Possessive CasePossessive Pronouns
Second Person Singular	youExample: You left early.	youExample: She likes you.	yourExample: That was your fault.	yoursThese are yours.
Second Person Plural	youExample: You left early.	youExample: She likes you.	yourExample: That was your fault.	yoursThese are yours.

Note: There is no difference in how the "second person singular" and "second person plural" forms are written. We have to rely on context to tell us whether "you" means one person or more than one.

First, Second, and Third Person Pronouns

The table below shows the first, second, and third person pronouns. The second person pronouns are shaded.

Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive CasePossessive Determiner	Possessive CasePossessive Pronouns
First Person Singular	I	me	my	mine
Second Person Singular	you	you	your	yours
Third Person Singular	he/she/it	him/her/it	his/her/its	his/hers/its
First Person Plural	we	us	our	ours
Second Person Plural	you	you	your	yours
Third Person Plural	they	them	their	theirs

Why the Second Person Is Important

In business writing, the first person adds a personal touch, and the third person adds formality. In storytelling, the first person makes it easier to engage your readers, and the third person affords the author a God-like status (i.e., as an all-seeing narrator). There are no such traits with the second person. It's the least interesting of the three person categories from a writing perspective. Nevertheless, here are three good reasons to care about the second person.

(Reason 1) Be mindful of the difference between "yourself" and "yourselves."

The second-person personal pronoun "you" has two forms: a singular form ("you are") and a plural form ("you are"). Hang on! Nothing changed! They are both "you are"! That's true. But, it's not always true. Look at these examples:

You can help yourself to the cakes.
You can help yourselves to the cakes.

(Reason 3) The subject of an order is "you."

The subject of an imperative sentence (i.e. one that gives an order) is "you." However, most of the time, the "you" is omitted. The "you" is said to be "understood" (i.e., is present without being present). For example:

Call me if you need help.
[You] Call me if you need help.

Why does this matter? This point matters because you can only use "yourself" or "yourselves" with an imperative verb (i.e., an order). You can't use "myself." This is a common mistake.

Contact your line manager or myself if you have any questions.

Read more about this writing mistake on the "reflexive pronouns" page.

(Reason 3) Understanding the person categories is useful for learning a foreign language.

Teachers and reference books all use the person categories to explain how grammar works (particularly verbs). So, if you are learning a foreign language or teaching English, it is essential to get comfortable with the person categories. Here are some examples of how the person categories appear in language books:

Person	English	German	French	Spanish
First Person Singular	I play	ich spiele	je joue	yo juego
Second Person Singular	you play	du spielst	tu joues	tu juegas
Third Person Singular	he/she/it plays	er/sie/es spielt	il/elle joue	el/ella/usted juega
First Person Plural	we play	wir spielen	nous jouons	nosotros jugamos
Second Person Plural	you play	ihr spielt	vous jouez	vosotros jagais
Third Person Plural	they play	Sie spielen	ils/ells jouent	ellos/ellas/ustedes juegan