(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.