Grammatical Person

Grammatical Person

From the ICAL TEFL wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

In grammar persons are used to show the relationship between the speaker and the listener or the writer and the reader. Pronouns and verb forms can vary depending on which person is being used. Persons can also affect nouns and possessive relationships.

English has 3 grammatical persons in the singular and 3 in the plural:

Singular

First person - I
Second person - you
Third person - she, he, it

Plural

First person - we
Second person - you
Third person - they


When a sentence or part of speech (verb, noun, pronoun, etc.) is in the first person singular it refers to the speaker or writer.

When it is in the first person plural it refers to a group that includes the speaker or writer.

If the sentence or part of speech is in the second person they refer to the person we are talking or writing to.

If they are in the third person they refer to someone or something different from the speaker or writer who is being addressed.