What is the difference between First Person, Second Person and Third Person?

PrintEmailSave

Whosoever has learned English in the school has certainly come across the difference between First Person, Second Person and Third Person. It is one of the basics of English grammar. But by the time you grow up and master speaking English, the rudimentary rules are forgotten as they usually are not important if you do not directly deal in literature.  So, let’s brush up your knowledge and understand the difference between First Person, Second Person and Third Person.

The best way to evaluate the difference between them is to study their examples.

First Person

This is when you are talking about yourself. When you use ‘I’, I, mine, and then you are talking in First Person. While narrating your own experience or while a writer is writing about his own story, he uses First Person singular or First Person Plural.

Example: I’m eating a cake.

Second Person

This part of speech is used when you are talking to another person or relating a story. When you say, ’you’, ‘your’, ‘we’ then you are talking in Second person. Second person is more commonly used to get attention and connect a thread between the writer and the reader.

Example: I want to tell you something.

Third Person

So talking about you is First Person, talking with others is Second Person, and then what can be the Third Person? If you are talking about someone who is not present, then that non-present person or even a thing is Third person.

Example: He was snoring very loudly.

This is the basic difference between First Person, Second Person and Third Person.

Pronouns and singular and plural

Depending upon different pronouns the First Person, Second Person and Third Person are used differently in singular and plural form.

Personal Pronoun

This pronoun is a part of regular conversation and is very common.

First Person Singular:       I

First Person Plural:   We

Second Person Singular and Plural: You

Third Person Singular: He, She, It

Third Person Plural: They

Possessive Pronoun

This pronoun is used to express authority and ownership.

First Person Singular: My, Mine

First Person Plural: Our, Ours

Second Person Singular and Plural: Your and Yours

Third Person Singular: His, Her, Hers, Its

Third Person Plural: Their, Theirs

Object Pronoun  

This is a bit tricky to understand. Here the personal pronoun is in the disguise of Direct object.

First Person Singular: Me

First Person Plural: Us

Second Person Singular and Plural: You

Third Person Singular: Him, Her, It

Third Person Plural: Them

The above information demonstrates the different ways in which parts of speech is used along with the various pronouns and also highlights the difference between First Person, Second Person and Third Person.