When talking to someone, can I use their name in place of "you"? Is this only used when talking a certain way (e.g. to children)? Or is this not done in English at all?
Example:
Ann is talking to Bob.
Ann says "I cooked lasagna today"
Bob replies:
"I really want to try your cooking!"
Ann says: "I never knew Bob liked lasagna"
If it makes a difference, please consider both the case where other people are also part of the conversation, and the case where Ann and Bob are talking alone.
Best Answer
If you use someone’s name instead of “you”, it doesn’t sound like you’re addressing them.
If for any reason you wanted or needed to use a person’s name (since “you” is ambiguous sometimes), you would use a noun of direct address. For example:
It’s a bit complicated to explain all the rules to where in the sentence it can go, but at either the beginning or the end is always safe.
It’s especially helpful to use this to prevent confusion when there’s a group of people but it’s also used when you’re alone with someone and there’s no chance of confusion about who you’re addressing. Additionally, you can do this with any sentence you’re addressing to a person, not just ones with pronouns.