49 Personal Pronouns: Generic - You
Pronouns
The Generic Personal Pronoun “You” does not refer to any person in particular, but to all people in general. It has the same meaning as everyone, anyone or people.
You:
Grammatically 2nd person but considered impersonal.
There are some specific points of You:
- Used as the subject of the sentence;
- It refers to anyone;
- Not considered as the second person.
- You can’t say that the sound system doesn’t work.
- You should take out the rubbish regularly.
- You should keep the electrical appliance away from the water.
The Generic Personal Pronoun “You” (second person) is used in general statements to express that the speaker is talking about anyone at anytime, in order to generalise some facts or opinions for people.
We use the Generic Personal Pronoun “You” when we wish to talk about anyone at anytime and to generalise about people. You is the subject of the sentence, refers to anyone but is not considered as the second person.
For example:
— “You shouldn’t talk when your mouth is full.” = We give an advice to all people in general.
Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section which shows its use within a context.