We say "thanks Joe!" rather than *"thank Joe!" etc. So why do we say "thank you!"? Wouldn't "thanks you!" make more sense?
"thanks Joe" versus "thank you"
No.
Look at those two phrases as being short forms of "My thanks, Joe", and "I thank you" -- in one, thanks in a noun, and in the other, thank is a verb.
Keeping the comma in its proper place in "thanks, Joe" gives us a bit of a hint.
Look at those two phrases as being short forms of "My thanks, Joe", and "I thank you" -- in one, thanks in a noun, and in the other, thank is a verb.
Keeping the comma in its proper place in "thanks, Joe" gives us a bit of a hint.
When we say "Thanks, Joe!", the word "Joe" is vocative -- it is used as a direct form of address. But when we say "Thank you", the word "you" is the object of the verb "thank". As Uriel suggests, I think it comes from "I thank you", and for some reason the "I" got omitted when it became a fixed expression.
One generally doesn't use "you" vocatively... it's generally rude. A common exception is "Hey, you!", used to get the attention of somebody whose name you don't know. But that can also be rude depending on the tone of voice.
- Kef
One generally doesn't use "you" vocatively... it's generally rude. A common exception is "Hey, you!", used to get the attention of somebody whose name you don't know. But that can also be rude depending on the tone of voice.
- Kef