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Such as when I say "Well, you can't just walk into a bar and yell fire" meaning anyone can't walk into a bar and yell fire.

eudy
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1 Answers1

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You call it the "generic you" or "the impersonal you.

  • In English grammar and in particular in casual English, generic you, impersonal you or indefinite you is the pronoun you in its use in referring to an unspecified person, as opposed to its use as the second person pronoun. The generic you is primarily used as a colloquial or less formal substitute for one. --- from Wikipedia

Examples:

  • "You never know what will happen next"
  • "You can't expect children to behave like adults"
  • "The first rule of Fight Club is: you don't talk about Fight Club."
Centaurus
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    In formal English (British English at least) 'you' is often replaced by 'one' which takes the third person singular rather than the second person ('you do' being replaced by 'one does') though this is becoming less common and usually sounds pretentious and old fashioned. Can you imagine "The first rule of Fight Club is that one doesn't talk about Fight Club"? – BoldBen Sep 29 '16 at 04:15