How to write a message "you" - with a capital or small letter

Concerning the spelling of the appeal to the readerthe following questions arise: "When it is appropriate to write" To you "with a capital letter and in what cases is it unacceptable?" Why are there different variants in literature? What do modern rules say?

Let's look deep into the ages

Until the XVIII century in Russia to one personappealed to "you", whether it's a high-ranking official, even if the tsar, or a simple peasant. Also there was no difference in the reference to an older person.

True, it should be noted that from the XI-XVI centuriesappeal to "you" can be found in the official correspondence when addressing the prince. Apparently, the influence of Byzantium affected here, where such treatment was in the order of things.

With the development of language, especially since the time of Peter I, under the influence of French and German etiquette, the appeal to "you", as polite and respectful, is gradually coming back to normal.

Over time, "poke" the high-ranking people,people who occupy the highest position in society and older in age are no longer the first noblemen, then the educated strata of society. In the peasant environment, the "you" continued to exist.

Appeal in the literature

Authoritative writers - such as AS Pushkin and LN Tolstoy - used this epistolary turn in their letters. And they wrote "you" with a big or small letter.

Tatyana's letter begins with an appeal to "you":

• I'm writing to you ...

But after a few phrases Tatiana switches to "you", pours out feelings in the letter, and then ends up also on "you": "

• Your honor is my bail.

How can one not remember the poet's remark about a more intimate "you":

• You are empty hearted, she, slipping, replaced.

AS Pushkin writes an address with a lowercase letter. Although his well-known letter on the day of AO Ishimova's duel contains "You" and "You" with a capital letter.

LN Tolstoy wrote to Yu. Bitovt:

• Thank you…

IS Turgenev wrote in a letter to Schumacher:

• For this, I remain loyal to you ...

Here the reference to "you" with a capital letter.

By the way, V.I. Dahl, the compiler of the famous dictionary and friend of Alexander Sergeevich, did not approve of "vykanya", this "distorted politeness", as he expressed it. Obviously, in those times there were no clear boundaries for the use of the capital letter in the circulation of "you".

How to be a modern person? After all, even the classics are impermanent in their preferences.

What do the rules say?

The question is how to write "to you" - with a large ora small letter - arose with a vengeance with the advent of the Internet. Site owners, referring to potential visitors, created a new type of correspondence - not formal and not personal, but public. The Institute of Russian of the Russian Academy of Sciences recommends the following rules:

1. This appeal should be written with a capital letter in official letters to one person:

• Your Honor, allow me to present you the following case materials and copies of documents ...

2. Referring to more than one person, you should write these words with a small letter:

• I am sending you, dear Anton Pavlovich and Yuri Alexandrovich, copies of the documents you are interested in ...

3. In the questionnaires, the spelling of these words is regulated with a capital letter:

• Indicate what awards you have and what gratitude you were given ...

4. In congratulatory addresses, since they are equivalent to official letters, they write these words with a capital letter:

• Dear Vasily Nikodimovich! We congratulate you on your fiftieth birthday and on the whole team, we wish you ...

5. Referring to the readers of the page on the Internet, it is recommended to use a small letter:

• If you liked this article, and also if you would like to change or supplement something ...

Practice of use

Now, as before, in the official correspondence "To you" is written with a capital letter, it is inadmissible to apply otherwise - it is illiterate and impolite. These are the requirements of etiquette.

In personal correspondence, the choice is for the author of the letter. It is permissible to use "you" with a lowercase letter. There is a tendency, especially in electronic letters, to increase the use of the pronoun "you" with a lowercase letter.

Directories issued before 2000 setnorm of the reference to "you" with a capital letter, and after 2000 - with a lowercase. It should be noted here that the well-known recommendations of the RAS were issued to Yandex executives in the middle of 2000.

Newspapers and advertising do not use the capital letter in the pronoun "you". This is not required in the literature (for example, in direct speech), in quotations, in addressing the reader.

Let's sum up the results

How do you write "you" - with a big or small letter? We list all the options:

1. At the request of the etiquette, the officials (high officials, the president, the ambassador, the judge, the director) are only addressed to the "You" with a capital letter. In this case, the author may not have any respect for the addressee, but the rules are rules.

2. Appeal to two or more persons in any correspondence is regulated only with a lowercase letter.

3. The questionnaires are compiled with the pronoun "To you" with a capital letter.

4. In personal correspondence, promotional materials, press reports and releases, the interview should be written "you" with a small letter. But if the author very much wants to testify in the letter his respect, it is permissible to write "To you" only if it is an appeal to a specific person. This is considered an optional spelling.

As in such situations, writing an appeal to "you" - with a large or small letter - is determined by the author. In any case, referring to "you", he demonstrates the degree of courteous attitude to the addressee.