Southern Grammar: Lesson Two

So, after my original Southern Grammar blog debuted over this past weekend, I was told that I was missing a key part of understanding y'all.  So, here I be, teaching you the ways of y'all by ways of possession. 

Y'all: possessive case... is that what you call it?  ANYWAY.

Someone make me some Snickerdoodles.  Now!

So, you, an inquisitive northerner walk up to your new southern friend Tammy.  Tammy is a lovely woman and she is typically very generous.  She has a plate of cookies that you just crave.  So you look at Tammy and ask her, 'Is this plate of delicious cookies yours?'  She says yes, and yes you can have one and the world is right.

Now, enter Jacob.  Jacob and Tammy and now both standing beside a mouth watering plate of snickerdoodles.  Being in the south, you know that the proper thing to say would be this, 'Is this plate of mouth watering snickerdoodles y'all's?' 


Now you see how one person possessive is referred to as 'yours' and then two people possessive is 'y'all's.'

Now, just like when you are referring to a group of three or more people, if you are asking Tammy, Jacob AND Aaron whose cookies live on the plate beside them, you say 'Is this plate of cookies all y'all's?'  Fairly simple!  Yours, y'all's and all y'all's.

In all fairness, in term of possession, the southerners might be on to something.  Seriously, because if us northerners speak of a group of northerners possessing something we say, 'Is this your guyses?'   WHAT?  It just sounds stupid.  'You guyses???'  Like guises?  Geysers?  What?  Y'all's and All y'alls is MUCH easier to say.  So while I may not start referring to groups of people by y'all, I may adapt their possession.  I'm not sayin,' I'm just sayin.'

Will there be another Southern grammar lesson?  Maybe.  I could teach you about 'cher baby!' But not to now.  For now I'll let you believe that cher baby has something to do with this: