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{{short description|First-person plural personal pronoun in English}}
{{Italic title}}
{{About|the English personal pronoun|other uses|We (disambiguation)}}

{{Wiktionary|we|us|our|ours|ourselves}}

In [[Modern English]], '''''we''''' is a [[Grammatical number|plural]], [[Grammatical person|first-person]] [[personal pronoun|pronoun]].

== Morphology == 
In [[Standard English|Standard]] Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word [[Morphology (linguistics)|forms]]:<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last1=Huddleston|first1=Rodney|title=The Cambridge grammar of the English language|last2=Pullum|first2=Geoffrey K.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002}}</ref>

* ''we'': the [[Nominative case|nominative]] (subjective) form
* ''us'' and ''{{'s}}'': the [[Accusative case|accusative]] (objective; also called the '[[Oblique case|oblique]]'.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge history of the English Language: Volume III 1476–1776|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|editor-last=Lass|editor-first=Roger|location=Cambridge}}</ref>{{Rp|146}}) form
* ''our:'' the dependent [[Genitive case|genitive]] (possessive) form
*''ours:'' the independent [[Genitive case|genitive]] (possessive) form
* ''ourselves'': the [[Reflexive pronoun|reflexive]] form
There is also a distinct [[English determiners|determiner]] ''we'' as in ''we humans aren't perfect'',<ref name=":12" /> which some people consider to be just an extended use of the pronoun.

==History==
{{Further|Old English pronouns|Proto-Germanic pronouns|Proto-Indo-European pronouns}}''We'' has been part of English since [[Old English]], having come from Proto-Germanic *''wejes'', from PIE *''we''-.<ref>{{Cite web|title=we {{!}} Origin and meaning of we by Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/we|access-date=2021-03-24|website=www.etymonline.com|language=en}}</ref> Similarly, ''us'' was used in Old English as the [[Accusative case|accusative]] and [[Dative case|dative]] plural of ''we'', from PIE *''nes''-.<ref>{{Cite web|title=us {{!}} Origin and meaning of us by Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/us|access-date=2021-03-24|website=www.etymonline.com|language=en}}</ref> The following table shows the old English first-person plural and [[Grammatical number|dual]] pronouns:
{| class=" wiki table"
|+Old English, first-person dual and plural<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge history of the English Language: Volume II 1066–1476|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1992|editor-last=Blake|editor-first=Norman|location=Cambridge}}</ref>{{Rp|117}}
!
!Plural
!Dual
|-
!Nominative
|''wē''
|''wit''
|-
!Accusative
|''ūs''
|''unc''
|-
![[Dative case|Dative]]
|''ūs''
|''unc''
|-
!Genitive
|''ūre''
|''uncer''
|}
By late [[Middle English]], the dual form was lost, and the dative and accusative had merged.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|117}} The ''ours'' genitive can be seen as early as the 12th century. ''Ourselves'' replaced original construction ''we selfe'', ''us selfum'' in the 15th century,<ref>{{Cite web|title=our {{!}} Origin and meaning of our by Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/our|access-date=2021-03-24|website=www.etymonline.com|language=en}}</ref> so that, by the century's end, the Middle English forms of ''we'' had solidified into those we use today.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|120}}

== Gender ==
''We'' is not generally seen as participating in the system of [[Gender in English|gender]]. In Old English, it did not. Only third-person pronouns had distinct masculine, feminine, and neuter gender forms.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|117}} But by the 17th century, that old [[Grammatical gender|gender]] system, which also marked gender on [[Proper and common nouns|common nouns]] and [[adjective]]s, had disappeared, leaving only pronoun marking. At the same time, a new [[Relative clause|relative]] pronoun system was developing that eventually split between [[Animate gender|personal]] relative ''[[Who (pronoun)|who]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=who - Middle English Compendium|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED52640/track?counter=1&search_id=6097106|access-date=2021-03-20|website=quod.lib.umich.edu}}</ref>'' and impersonal relative ''which''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=which - Middle English Compendium|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED52536/track?counter=2&search_id=6097106|access-date=2021-03-20|website=quod.lib.umich.edu}}</ref> This is seen as a new personal / non-personal (or impersonal) gender system.<ref name=":12" /><sup>{{Rp|1048}}</sup> As a result, {{citation needed span |date=June 2021 |reason=a secondary source that supports this might be in one of the adjacent reference or this might be original research |text=some scholars consider ''we'' to belong to the personal gender, along with ''[[Who (pronoun)|who]]''.}}

== Syntax ==

=== Functions ===
''We'' can appear as a [[Subject (grammar)|subject]], [[Object (grammar)|object]], [[determiner]] or [[Complement (linguistics)|predicative complement]].<ref name=":12" /> The reflexive form also appears as an [[Adjunct (grammar)|adjunct]].

* Subject: ''<u>We</u>'re there; <u>us</u> being there; <u>our</u> being there; we planned for <u>ourselves</u> to be there.''
* Object: ''They saw <u>us</u>''<u>;</u> ''She pointed them to <u>us</u>; We thought about ourselves.''
* Predicative complement: ''They have become <u>us</u>''; ''We eventually felt we had become <u>ourselves</u>.''
* Dependent [[determiner]]: ''We reached <u>our</u> goals''; ''<u>We</u> humans aren't perfect''; ''Give it to <u>us</u> students''.
* Independent determiner: ''This is <u>ours</u>.''
* Adjunct: ''We did it <u>ourselves</u>.''

The contracted object form ''{{'s}}'' is only possible after the special ''let'' of ''let's do that''.

=== Dependents ===
Pronouns rarely take [[Phrase structure grammar#Dependency relation|dependents]], but it is possible for ''we'' to have many of the same kind of dependents as other [[noun phrase]]s.

* [[Relative clause]] modifier: ''we <u>who arrived late</u>''
* Determiner: ''Not a lot of people know <u>the</u> real us.''
* [[Adjective phrase]] modifier: ''Not a lot of people know the <u>real</u> us''.
* [[Adverbial phrase|Adverb phrase]] external modifier: ''<u>not even</u> us''

== Semantics ==
{{See also|Nosism}}
''We''{{'s}} [[Reference|referents]] generally must include the speaker, along with other [[person]]s, with a few exceptional cases. ''We'' is always [[Definiteness|definite]] and [[Specificity (linguistics)|specific]].

=== Royal ''we'' ===
{{Main article|Royal we}}
The royal ''we'', or majestic plural (''pluralis majestatis''), is sometimes used by a person of high office, such as a [[monarch]], earl, or [[pope]]. It has singular semantics.{{Explain|date=July 2025}}

=== Editorial ''we'' ===
The editorial ''we'' is a similar phenomenon, in which an [[editorial]] [[columnist]] in a newspaper or a similar commentator in another medium refers to themselves as ''we'' when giving their opinion. Here, the writer casts themselves as [[spokesperson]]: either for the media institution who employs them or on behalf of the party or body of citizens who agree with the commentary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/editorial+we|title=editorial we|website=TheFreeDictionary.com}}</ref> The reference is not explicit but is generally consistent with a first-person plural.{{clarify|date=July 2025}}

=== Author's ''we'' ===
The author's ''we'', or ''pluralism modesties'', is a practice referring to a generic [[grammatical person|third person]] as ''we'' (instead of ''one'' or the informal ''you''):
*'' By adding four and five, we obtain nine.''
*'' We are led also to a definition of "time" in physics.'' — [[Albert Einstein]]{{Quote without source|date=July 2025}}

''We'' in this sense often refers to "the reader and the author" because the author often assumes that the reader knows and agrees with certain principles or previous theorems for the sake of brevity (or, if not, the reader is prompted to look them up).{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} This practice is discouraged by some academic style guides because it does not distinguish between sole authorship and co-authorship.<ref>{{cite book|title=Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association|date=1994|publisher=American Psychological Association|location=Washington, DC|isbn=1557982414|page=[https://archive.org/details/publicationmanua00washrich/page/30 30]|edition=4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/publicationmanua00washrich}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Blanpain |first1=Kristin |title=Academic Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences: A Resource for Researchers |date=2008 |publisher=Voorburg |location=Leuven |page=43}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wallwork |first1=Adrian |title=User Guides, Manuals, and Technical Writing: A Guide to Professional English |date=2014 |publisher=Springer |location=New York |page=153}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldbort |first1=Robert |title=Writing for Science |date=2006 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, CT |page=18}}</ref> Again, the reference is not explicit, but is generally consistent with [[first-person plural]].{{clarify|date=July 2025}}

=== Inclusive and exclusive ''we'' ===
{{Main article|Clusivity}}
Some languages distinguish between inclusive ''we'', which includes both the speaker and the addressee(s), and exclusive ''we'', which excludes the addressee(s). English does not make this distinction grammatically, though ''we'' can have both inclusive and exclusive semantics.

Imperative ''let's'' or ''let us'' allows [[Imperative mood|imperatives]] to be inclusive.<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|925}} Compare:

* ''Take this outside''. (exclusive, 2nd person)
* ''Let's take this outside.'' (inclusive, 1st person)

=== Second-person ''we'' ===
''We'' is used sometimes in place of ''you'' to address a second party: A doctor may ask a patient: "And how are we feeling today?". A waiter may ask a client: "What are we in the mood for?"{{Citation needed paragraph|date=June 2024}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Modern English personal pronouns}}

[[Category:Middle English personal pronouns]]
[[Category:Modern English personal pronouns]]
[[Category:Old English personal pronouns]]