Can "you" be used to refer to multiple people?

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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Sinows
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Can "you" be used to refer to multiple people?

Post by Sinows »

I'm pretty sure I hear "you" used when referring to multiple people in casual/everyday speech, but is it okay to do that grammatically-speaking? Take this example for instance:

"What are good kids like you doing hanging out with that troublemaker?"

There are multiple kids, but "you" is being used to refer to them.
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Alan
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Re: Can "you" be used to refer to multiple people?

Post by Alan »

Yes, 'you' is both a singular and a plural pronoun.
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