Person - Three People

Only Three People Exist on Earth

Amber, Igor, and Miss Hamrick realized a long time ago that people mostly talk about only one thing—other people. That is, they gossip. They recognized, therefore, a universal truth:

When ordinary human discourse took place—when gossip was whispered in Amber and Igor’s cave—we had only three players:

1. the speaker 2. the listener 3. the unfortunate soul whose reputation was about to be skewered

The speaker became known as first person; the listener, as second person; and the, uh, skeweree, as third person. The tables below (keep reading) show the various personal pronouns, in first, second, and third persons.

As the system of personal pronouns became widely used, especially in Igor’s cave, we began to hear all three persons appear . . . not in Igor’s sweet nothin’s but in his entreaties:

I’m telling you, my dear, that she forced me to do it.

 

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