(pron.) A contraction for "you all," used primarily in the southern United States. The possessive of "
y'all" is "y'all's" as in:
"Do y'all have y'all's stuff packed for the trip?"
Regional note: Often the use of "y'all all" is perfectly acceptable for many Southerners:
"Y'all all have a great
time tonight!" is equivalent to:
"All y'all have a great
time tonight!"
Every reputable source states that "y'all" is used only as the second person plural pronoun (addressing more than one person). Quoting one source: Southerners do not, as is sometimes believed, use "you-all" or "y'all" for both singular and plural "you."
But this is not altogether true. In some cases, particularly when a heated exchange is taking place in a trailer community between two partners or individuals, "y'all" is perfectly normal for use as the second person singular pronoun:
"I've HAD it with yore horse
shit, Jesse
Sue! Y'all can go
FUCK OFF!!"
NOTE: This is useful because the person addressing Jesse
Sue can imply both Jesse
Sue (by herself) AND her biological
family members in the same statement.