more common to clarify when multiple people were being spoken to, by adding , ("people"), or a shortened variety, to the end of the pronoun. Thus, when speaking to multiple people, one would use or . This combination was contracted and fused over time, eventually resulting in , the informal plural pronoun that is used today. It can be compared, in its origin, to the English y'all or Spanish . Modern northern Dutch, and usually standard Dutch as well, has two forms of second person pronouns, namely and . is the formal pronoun, whereas is used as the informal personal pronoun to address a single person. In the plural, is also used, alongside the informal . In the south, only one pronoun, , is generally used in all three roles: both singular and plural, formal and informal. U is sometimes also used in formal situations, but the southern does not have a distinct informal connotation like the northern/standard , and can be used to address anyone without offence. Religious Dutch speakers in all areas address God using either or ; is never used. For speakers of the north, this is usually the only place where is encountered, giving it a formal and archaic tone, even though it is neutral in the southern areas where it is still used. The pronoun (unstressed variant of ) can also be used impersonally, corresponding to the English generic you. The more formal Dutch term corresponding to English generic you or one is . In Dutch the formal personal pronoun is used for older people or for people with a higher or equal status, unless the addressed makes it clear they want to be spoken to with the informal pronoun. Unlike for example in German, there is no defined line (in the case of German, roughly when someone passes the age of 16) in which everyone, apart from family, is addressed with the formal pronoun. Addressing parents by has become very rare; is often even used to address grandparents. There is also a tendency towards more use of the informal pronoun. Some companies such as IKEA consciously address their customers with the informal . However, can still be considered more or less obligatory in situations where, for example, a pupil addresses their teacher, people testify in court or communication between a doctor and their patient. English Contemporary English generally uses only the form "you", regardless