Grammatical person

The personal pronouns "I" and "we" are said to be in the first person. It is traditionally defined to be the speaker.

The personal pronoun "you" is said to be in the second person. It is traditionally defined to the person spoken to, the speakee.

All other pronouns and all nouns are said to be in the third person. This person is traditionally defined to be what is spoken of or anything that is not first or second person.

In many languages, the verb takes a form dependent on this person and whether it is singular or plural. In English, this happens with the verb "to be".

• I am (first-person sigular)
• You are (second-person)
• He, she or it is (third-person sigular)
• We are (first-person plural)
• They are (third-person plural)

When "first-person", "second-person", and "third-person" are used as adjectives, they should be hyphenated.

See grammatical conjugation and grammar.