The second-person point of view belongs to the person (or people) being addressed. This is the “you” perspective. Once again, the biggest indicator of the second person is the use of second-person pronouns: you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves.
Second person is a point of view that refers to a person or people being addressed by a writer or speaker. For example, the sentence You walked across a bridge uses the second person to say what “you” (the reader or listener) did.
Examples of Second Person Point of View
Now that we have the second person POV definition covered, here's an example: “You feel your heart race, and the air around you seems to crystalize. But the only way forward is to move your feet.” The text directly addresses the reader, bringing them into the action of the plot.
First Person: I, me, my, mine, we, our, us. Second Person: You, your. Third Person: He, she, it, him, her, his, hers, they, them, their, theirs.
In second person point of view the reader is part of the story. The narrator describes the reader's actions, thoughts, and background using "you." It's all about how you look at it. When you tell a story, an important thing to choose is the point of view that the story should take.
Second person is used for those who are being spoken to. It is expressed by the word “you” in both the singular and the plural. The third person includes anyone or anything else other than I, me, us, or you. It is represented by the words “he,” “she,” and “it” in the singular and “they” and “them” in the plural.
What Is Second Person POV in Writing? Second person point of view uses the pronoun “you” to address the reader. This narrative voice implies that the reader is either the protagonist or a character in the story and the events are happening to them.
3rd Person Point of View Explained
The third person point of view uses he, she, they, descriptors, or names to communicate perspective. Let's look at some examples: He was a great student. She succeeded in every way.
Britannica Dictionary definition of SECOND PERSON. [noncount] 1. grammar : a set of words or forms (such as pronouns or verb forms) that refer to the person that the speaker or writer is addressing — often used before another noun. “You” is the second person singular and plural pronoun in English.
With second-person point of view, the writer addresses the reader using the pronoun "you". It forces the reader into the story, making them part of the action and complicit in events. This is hard to sustain over longer pieces of writing, which is one reason it is rarely used in narrative texts.
“The second person POV brings the reader closer to the narrator, making the reading experience more intimate and less detached. When the narrator turns the reader into one of the characters, the story feels immediate and surrounding.”
Second person point of view is often used for giving directions, offering advice, or providing an explanation. This perspective allows the writer to make a connection with his or her audience by focusing on the reader. Second person personal pronouns include you, your, and yours.
The second-person point of view belongs to the person (or people) being addressed. This is the “you” perspective. Once again, the biggest indicator of the second person is the use of second-person pronouns: you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves.
When you are writing in the third person, the story is about other people. Not yourself or the reader. Use the character's name or pronouns such as 'he' or 'she'. "He sneakily crept up on them.
The third person is how you indicate that the topic is not open for debate. You are speaking about facts that just so happen to include you.
While first-person writing offers intimacy and immediacy between narrator and reader, third-person narration offers the potential for both objectivity and omniscience. This effectively makes both forms of narration appealing to both first-time and seasoned writers.
The chief reason many agents and editors prefer third person and call it the “professional” POV, is that the overwhelming percentage of successful books and bestsellers are written in third person.
Fourth Person Point of View
Fourth person is a newer POV that only recently started to be recognized as a distinct POV. It involves a collective perspective, using the plural pronouns we and us. This POV allows you to tell a story from the perspective of a group, rather than an individual.
The question of what perspective to use in a story or novel is a personal one. There are no rules. Generally, writers are recommended to use third person when they're just starting out because it's a bit easier to get right.
First person = "the speaker": the person (or people) talking (or writing), or the group on whose behalf they are talking. Second person = "the addressed": the person to whom the speech/writing is directed. Third person = "the absent": someone who is neither speaking nor being spoken to.
A paper using third-person point of view uses pronouns such as "he," "she," "it," "they," "him," "her," "his," and "them."