{"id":3919,"date":"2021-04-05T20:11:38","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T03:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/?p=3919"},"modified":"2024-02-19T14:35:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T21:35:45","slug":"two-types-of-narrators-or-speakers-in-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/two-types-of-narrators-or-speakers-in-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Two Types of Narrators or Speakers in Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a rule, I use the term narrator<\/strong><\/em> for narratives, and the term speaker<\/strong><\/em> for most other types of writing, especially academic writing. Although the narrator is always the speaker in a narrative, the speaker is probably not narrating (i.e., telling what happened) in most other writing types. To be clear, the narrator and the speaker do the same job. They are speaking.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Confuse 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Person Pronouns with 1st or 3rd Person Narrator or Speaker<\/h3>\n

Point of view has a specific meaning. It means \u201chow a person sees and interprets things.\u201d As an example, a first-person narrator is telling the story from his or her perspective. A third-person narrator is telling the story from his, her, or its perspective.<\/p>\n

To be clear, pronouns and the narrator\/speaker point of view are two different concepts. Although they are connected and related, they are not the same thing. As you can see in these two examples, a first-person speaker can use all three types of pronouns. Additionally, there is no second-person narrator\/speaker, and I will explain that later.<\/p>\n

1. First Person Narrator or Speaker:<\/span> We<\/strong><\/span> (1st) think that you<\/strong><\/span> (2nd) should give your<\/strong><\/span> (2nd) money to them<\/span><\/strong> (3rd).<\/p>\n

2. First Person Narrator or Speaker:<\/span> The<\/strong><\/span>y (3rd) say that I<\/strong><\/span> (1st) should give my<\/strong><\/span> (1st) money to you<\/strong><\/span> (2nd).<\/p>\n\"pencil Are you an elementary or middle school teacher? Have you taken a look at Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage?<\/span><\/a>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

We Have Two Types of Narrators or Speakers:<\/span><\/h3>\n

1. First Person<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Third Person<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference between first-person narrator\/speaker and third-person narrator\/speaker? In its simplest form, it comes down to pronouns.<\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0 A first-person narrator uses at least one<\/span> of the following pronouns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0 A third-person narrator speaker doesn\u2019t use any<\/span> of these pronouns.<\/span><\/p>\n

1st Person Singular Pronouns:<\/span> I, me, my, mine, myself<\/p>\n

1st Person Plural Pronouns:<\/span> we, us, our, ours, ourselves<\/p>\n

2nd Person Pronouns:<\/span> you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves<\/p>\n

Please Note:<\/strong><\/em> Pronouns inside of quotation marks (e.g., quotes, dialogue) don\u2019t affect first person vs. third person. In short, pronouns inside of quotation marks don\u2019t count.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

=================<\/span><\/h3>\n

Second Person Pronouns = First Person Speaker or Narrator<\/h3>\n

Using second-person pronouns<\/em> means that there is a first-person speaker<\/em> or narrato<\/em>r. There is no \u201cyou\u201d without an \u201cI.\u201d However, the \u201cI\u201d may be implied. Let\u2019s take a look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Second-Person Pronouns Means that there is a First-Person Narrator\/ Speaker<\/span><\/td>\nTrue Third-Person Speaker\/ Narrator<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1.\u00a0 <\/span>You<\/span> should eat your<\/span> spinach. = I<\/span> say that you<\/span> should eat your<\/span> spinach.<\/p>\n

2.<\/span>\u00a0 The research says that you<\/span> should exercise regularly. = I<\/span> say that the research says that you<\/span> should exercise regularly.<\/td>\n

1.\u00a0<\/span> People<\/span> should eat their<\/span> spinach.<\/p>\n

2.<\/span>\u00a0 Jim<\/span> should eat his<\/span> spinach.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s true third-person narrator\/ speaker! It does not contain the words “you” or “I.”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/h3>\n

Advertisements and Second-Person Pronouns<\/h3>\n

Many advertisements use second-person pronouns. Take a look!<\/p>\n

1.<\/span>\u00a0 After you<\/span> wash your<\/span> clothes with CLEAN-STUFF, you<\/span> will feel like royalty.<\/p>\n

This example uses second-person pronouns. So, is that your point of view? No!<\/p>\n

Textbooks and Second-Person Pronouns<\/h3>\n

Take a quick look at a few of your textbooks. Most textbooks use lots of second-person pronouns. Additionally, most textbooks occasionally use first-person plural pronouns (e.g., we). Technically, most of our textbooks are written in first-person point of view. However, they don\u2019t sound like first person. In short, there is an art to matching pronoun usage with genre, audience, message, and formality. Many teachers have strict rules about which pronouns they allow, but those rules are just rules for a specific genre or writing style.<\/p>\n\"pencil “I was going crazy because my students had trouble constructing a single paragraph. I stumbled upon your writing program and decided to buy it on the spot. Two months later, the results were amazing! My students could actually write. Since then, I have been using it in my classroom and with students I tutor from other schools.” Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay! Put simply, it works.<\/span><\/a>\n

=================<\/span><\/h3>\n

Is There Such a Thing as A Second-Person Narrator in Stories?<\/h3>\n

Point of view means \u201chow a person sees and interprets things.\u201d A first-person narrator is telling the story from his or her perspective. A third-person narrator is telling the story from his, her, or its eye-in-the-sky perspective.<\/p>\n

For so many reasons, there is no such thing as a second-person point of view. In short, I can\u2019t tell you what you think and make it your point of view. Read this:<\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0 You<\/span> think that soap tastes great!<\/p>\n

Is that your point of view? Is that how you see things? No. In reality, your point of view is what you think as you read that, not what I say you think. What I say you think is always my point of view. And when you say something, you say it in your own first-person point of view.<\/p>\n

To be fair,<\/span> there are a few experimental novels written in what could be called second-person point of view. However, it\u2019s only a second-person point of view if you accept that you (the reader) are the book\u2019s character, and that is what you are thinking. Of course, the reader is free to say, \u201cNo. That\u2019s not what I am thinking. That\u2019s what YOU (the real first-person narrator) are saying that I am thinking.\u201d In reality, novels written in second-person point of view are first-person narrators thinking or talking to themselves. Take a look.<\/p>\n

One of the more famous second-person point-of-view novels is Bright Lights, Big City<\/em> (1984) by Jay McInerney. Here is how the novel begins: \u201cYou are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy. You are at a nightclub talking to a girl with a shaved head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Admittedly, it\u2019s an interesting writing style!<\/p>\n

The Term \u201cSecond-Person Point of View\u201d is Fine<\/h3>\n

Please note that I am not against the term \u201csecond-person point of view.\u201d After all, that is what most people call it. I\u2019m just saying that it\u2019s not the same as \u201cfirst-person point of view\u201d or \u201cthird-person point of view,\u201d because in reality, \u201csecond-person point of view\u201d is \u201cfirst-person point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a rule, I use the term narrator for narratives, and the term speaker for most other types of writing, especially academic writing. Although the narrator is always the speaker in a narrative, the speaker is probably not narrating (i.e., telling what happened) in most other writing types. To be clear, the narrator and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[457,391,570],"tags":[276,568,27,467,566,564,567,563,569,565],"class_list":["post-3919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genres","category-how-to-teach-writing","category-narrative-writing","tag-elementary-writing","tag-first-person","tag-middle-school-writing","tag-narrative-writing","tag-personal-pronouns","tag-point-of-view","tag-pov","tag-pronouns","tag-third-person","tag-types-of-narrators"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3919"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4499,"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3919\/revisions\/4499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/elementary_writing_success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}