Generic You
In English grammar and in particular in casual English, generic you or indefinite you is the pronoun you in its use in referring to an unspecified person, as opposed to its use as the second person pronoun.
Read more about Generic You: In English, Analogs in Other Languages
Other articles related to "generic you, generic":
Generic You - Analogs in Other Languages
... The rules for selecting a generic second-person pronoun may differ from the rules for selecting an ordinary second-person pronoun ... addressing a woman) but when used as generic pronouns, the speaker uses the pronoun with the gender corresponding to his or her own sex, rather than that of the person he or she is addressing ... On the other hand, in situations in which the generic you is used in English, diverse ways of expressing the same idea are used in a number of languages ...
... The rules for selecting a generic second-person pronoun may differ from the rules for selecting an ordinary second-person pronoun ... addressing a woman) but when used as generic pronouns, the speaker uses the pronoun with the gender corresponding to his or her own sex, rather than that of the person he or she is addressing ... On the other hand, in situations in which the generic you is used in English, diverse ways of expressing the same idea are used in a number of languages ...
Famous quotes containing the word generic:
““Mother” has always been a generic term synonymous with love, devotion, and sacrifice. There’s always been something mystical and reverent about them. They’re the Walter Cronkites of the human race . . . infallible, virtuous, without flaws and conceived without original sin, with no room for ambivalence.”
—Erma Bombeck (20th century)
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