Heard: "I'm on *your* guys's side!" [NT]

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Wed Jan 23 16:04:04 UTC 2013


Sounds a little odd but not impossible.

JL

On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 9:56 AM, Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Heard: "I'm on *your* guys's side!" [NT]
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Unless "you guys" has grammaticalized as a second plural pronoun, as it
> seems to have in some Northern dialects.  I know I've used expressions like
> "you guys side" but "your guys side" feels odd, with or without the "'s."
>
> Herb
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 4:09 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com
> >wrote:
>
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> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: Heard: "I'm on *your* guys's side!" [NT]
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Thank you. Now I see the issue.
> >
> > If my buddy is rooting for team X, then one meaning of "your guys's side"
> > is the side of my buddy's guys. I think that's okay.
> >
> > But even so, if I have two friends rooting for team X, and I am, too,
> then
> > "I'm on your guys's side" sounds right. I don't think I would even say
> "you
> > guys's side" though I agree that it doesn't make sense when analyzed.
> >
> > Benjamin Barrett
> > Seattle, WA
> >
> > On Jan 23, 2013, at 12:00 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 2:13 AM, Benjamin Barrett <
> gogaku at ix.netcom.com>
> > wrote:
> > >> If that's the plural second person possessive, that sounds right to
> me,
> > but what do the asterisks mean?...
> > >
> > > Stress, like,
> > >
> > > "I'm on YOUR guys's side!"
> > >
> > > as opposed to those guys's side.
> > >
> > > You would say "on your guys's side" and not "on your side" or "on you
> > > guys' side"? You'd combine the two, using "you guys's"? Interesting.
> > > You wouldn't write the combo version, though, right?
> >
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> >
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