you

youpronoun

You refers to the person or people spoken to, or, more loosely, to people in general.

1. the person spoken toused by a speaker or writer to refer to the person or people being spoken or written to

   You has the same form for the subject and the object, and for one person or more than one; only the situation shows which is meant. The possessive determiner is your; the independent possessive is yours; the reflexive forms are yourself, for one person, and yourselves, for more than one.

   • Are you coming to the party tonight?
   • I saw you at the store yesterday.
   • You and your brother should visit more often.
   • Can I help you with your bags?

   For translators (sense 1)

   Meaning across languages English has only one word, you, for both a close friend and a stranger, and for one person or many; many languages use different pronouns for formal and informal address, or separate singular and plural forms.

2. people in generalused to mean people in general, including the speaker, rather than one particular person

   This impersonal use often replaces the more formal one: you never know what might happen means that no one knows, not just the person being spoken to.

   • You never know what might happen.
   • In many jobs, you have to work some weekends.
   • You can't always get what you want.
   • It's hard to concentrate when you're tired.

   Synonyms one (one is a more formal way to make the same general statement)

   Compare one

See also your; yours