Page 187 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

■ Y’all want to come up on the porch and sit a while?
■ I think y’all need to park the car in another lot.

You guys is widely used throughout the American Northeast, Midwest, and

West, and is quasi-informal.

■ Hey, you guys, welcome to the latest episode of my podcast.

■ You guys should check out this six-wheeled space vehicle!

Both y’all and you guys are acceptable in common usage but should be

avoided in formal writing.
Some people complain that the guy in you guys is masculine, and therefore

shouldn’t be used for groups of people that include women. However, usage
over the last several decades has shown that most female speakers would have

no problem with you guys being used by a woman to refer to a group that
contains only women. In fact, if you watch makeup tutorials on YouTube, which

are made almost exclusively by women for women, you guys is very often used
to refer to the female audience.

Note that guys is genderless only when you’re talking to people and referring

to them with that pronoun. Guys is not genderless in other situations.

■ Wrong (about a group of women): All these guys were crowding the
makeup counter.

■ Wrong (about a group of men and women): Some guys climbed up

to the roof.
■ Right (talking to a group of women): Hey, guys, do you like my

skirt?
■ Right (talking to a group of men and women): You know what,

guys? You’re invited to my party!