Second Person

What Is Second Person? (with Examples)

The term second person refers to the speaker's audience (i.e.,you).

The personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they) are grouped into one of three categories:

First person: I and we
Second person: you
Third person: He/She/It and They

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).

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 Case Possessive Adjective	Possessive Case Absolute Possessive Pronouns
Second Person Singular	you Example: You left early.	you Example: She likes you.	your Example: That was your fault.	yours These are yours.
Second Person Plural	you Example: You left early.	you Example: She likes you.	your Example: That was your fault.	yours These 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 Case Possessive Adjective	Possessive Case Absolute Possessive 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

A Quick Test

WRITING IN THE FIRST PERSON

If you're asked to write in the first person, use I and we. For example:

We will handle your claim within 24 hours.

In business writing, this is useful to portray a personal touch.

WRITING IN THE THIRD PERSON

If you're asked to write in the third person, use he/she/it or nouns. For example:

Marks Ltd will handle your claim within 24 hours.

When talking about yourself, using the third person presents a formal air.

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