You have to admit, y’all is a pretty fun word.  But how do you spell it?  Some put the apostrophe after the “a”, as in “ya’ll”.  Well, it turns out, according to “Southern Living” (and every dictionary), that’s incorrect and the only way to spell it is with the apostrophe before the “a”.

Just like “do not” becomes “don’t” and “cannot” becomes “can’t” . . . “you all” becomes “y’all”.  And even though y’all is typically associated with the South, its usage is gaining in pop culture because it solves an English language problem.

Unlike most European languages, English “does not have a designed second-person plural pronoun.”  A lot of people say “you guys”, but “y’all” makes it gender neutral so it could apply to everyone.

And, here are some y’all substitutes depending on where you are in the world.   If you say “youse guys” you are probably from the Northeast . . . you’d say “yinz” in the Ozarks, Appalachians and Western Pennsylvania . . . and “you lot” if you’re from the U.K. or Australia.  (Southern Living)

(Check out this very accurate map breakdown of the United States and who says “Y’all” vs. “You Guys” vs. “Youse Guys”.)