this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2024
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

The conjugation of Be, "is" is not used in the second person (you, be it singular or plural) any more than "am" is ("am" is first person singular form.) regardless of the plurality (or lack thereof) in the subject.

The correct Be conjugations for second person subjects are "art" (2nd, singular, archaic) and "are".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (2 children)

So is thou/you plural or singular? I'm very confused. I'm not a grammar person lol. This conversation began because someone said thou is singular.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Thou is singular and you is plural. Thou art. You are.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Do you remember your conjugation tables from Spanish or French class?

English has them too, but the modern ones are much smaller than most (all?) other European languages.

Editted in:
Prn. | To be | note I am 1st person (the speaker) singular.
We are 1st person plural.
Thou art 2nd person (the one being spoken to) singular (archaic).
You are 2nd plural and singular.
(s)he /it is 3rd person (neither the speaker or spoken to) singular.
They are 3rd plural and singular

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I think because it's so small for English and because I'm a native speaker it's all just second nature and I don't really know the technicalities. Conjugating verbs in Spanish is one of my most frustrating areas of learning lol.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Yeah, it's only really "Be" and "have" that have any conjugation variety in English, and then the old 3rd singular +s and past tense and participles.

Since most English speakers don't learn much grammar it can be tricky. A few lessons on English grammar would probably make learning a second language much easier.