Possessive form of Y'ALL

James A. Landau JJJRLandau at AOL.COM
Fri May 25 01:48:11 UTC 2001


The OED2 says the "you-all", also spelled "you all", is "U. S. dial" and the
first citation is from 1824.

However, if you check Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Puck's
speech which ends the play, you will find the last six lines are (my
emphasis):

"Now to scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call.
So, good night unto YOU ALL.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends."

     - Jim Landau
       Systems Engineer
       FAA Technical Center (ACT-350/BCI)
       Atlantic City Airport NJ 08405 USA

P.S. For what's it's worth, I habitually say "your-all's" as the genitive
plural.



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