Re:Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
by baxtr on Sunday December 24, 2023 @02:46PM
(#38756171)
According to the article “you” was formal and “thou” informal.
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Re:Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
by zirgs on Sunday December 24, 2023 @03:14PM
(#38756437)
Yes - and this is how it is in a lot of other Indo-European languages too.
Re:Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
by fsckboy on Sunday December 24, 2023 @03:00PM
(#38756311)
from the spelling i assume they were pronounced the same, but hopefully they both rhymed with thou.
Re:Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
by o11c on Sunday December 24, 2023 @03:48PM
(#38756691)
Note that "you" is actually the object form, so the table is unfortunately not arranged the obvious way:
single plural used in contexts of
thou ye nominative (subject), vocative (preceded by the word "O"). For the singular, this implies that the relevant verb takes the "-[e]st" suffix.
thee you all object forms (direct object, indirect object, object of preposition)
thy your possessive determiner, before consonant sounds - thy will, thy God
thine your possessive determiner, before vowel sounds (including 'h') - thine enemy, thine head
thine yours possessive pronoun - not my will but thine, all that I have is thine
(the last distinction used to by used for my/mine, and is still used for a/an)