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by wiredfool 2612 days ago
Y'all is often singular. Y'alls and All y'alls are plural.

There's also youse, seen in Irish english. (at least in the Dublin dialect, can't say I've heard it much in the north)

3 comments

I grew up in the South, and I never encountered the use of "y'all" in a singular context (I'm 48). I'm not sure where that idea started.

Edit: I should instead say I never encountered it among actual locals using the word in normal speech. Later on, the plural was sometimes used jokingly after the idea that "y'all" was plural had taken hold in popular, non-Southern culture.

‘Ye’ is also used in some parts of Ireland (and was used in archaic English).
Yeah, definitely see that (mainly from a Donegal speaker), but I think it's more an indeterminate number. "How're ye getting on" is pretty common in verbal and informal written forms, directly to one person.
Scotland too, frequently spelt ‘use’