generic you
Appearance
English
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Noun
[edit]- The pronoun you, used to refer to an unspecified person or to people in general.
- 2015, Zsófia Demjén, Sylvia Plath and the Language of Affective States: Written Discourse and the Experience of Depression, page 161:
- The generic you can include more than just the direct addressee of the speech — it can even include those who are only over-hearing (or ‘over-reading’), suggesting that the reader could feel like they are also addressed by the pronoun.
Usage notes
[edit]- See they § Usage notes.