What can you say instead of you?
Replace instances of “you” in your essay either by using “individual” or “one” to refer to a single hypothetical person and using “people” to refer to a large group to whom something you’re saying applies. Replace instances of “your” in your essay by using the possessive forms of “individual,” “one,” and “people.”
Is there a formal way to say you?
“Thou” may sound stuffy and formal now, but it used to be the informal version of “you.” Saying “you” was actually a sign of respect….Thou and Thee.
| informal English: | formal English: |
|---|---|
| thou to thee thy | you to you your |
What is a ye?
Ye (/jiː/) is a second-person, plural, personal pronoun (nominative), spelled in Old English as “ge”. In Middle English and early Early Modern English, it was used as a both informal second-person plural and formal honorific, to address a group of equals or superiors or a single superior.
Can you say you in formal writing?
It is better to not use “you” in formal writing or speaking. In academic or college writing, most formal essays and research reports use third person pronouns and do not use “I” or “you.” An essay is the writer’s analysis about a topic. Using “I” in an essay is not wrong, but it is unnecessary.
Is it rude to say by the way?
The problem with “by the way” is not that it is informal, it is that in almost every case it is meaningless, unnecessary filler. You can, but it definitely sounds informal. A better way of going about it would be to write the incidental information into the work itself, rather than making it incidental.
Is thou a real word?
The word thou /ðaʊ/ is a second-person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in most contexts by you. Originally, thou was simply the singular counterpart to the plural pronoun ye, derived from an ancient Indo-European root.
How do you say formally in English?
As far as I know, you actually is the formal, originally plural version (ye/you/your) and thou was the informal version (thou/thee/thy/thine).