"Thank you both" or "Thank you both": Which is correct? (2023)

With so many different ways to thank someone in English, it can be a bit confusing to know the right phrase. Especially when you start entering variables like multiple people and even objects. "Thank you both" or "Thank you both" is one of those phrases.

In this article, we'll help answer a question our readers have been asking: should we say "thank you both" or "thank you both"?

IMPORTANCE

Meaning of "thank you"

Thanking someone means expressing gratitude to them. The full sentence is "Thank you," but nowadays it's more common to omit the subject "I" and simply shorten it to "Thank you" or even "Thank you."

The term has been in use since the 12th century and derives from the Latin tongēre, meaning "to know". One way to interpret this is for someone to say to another person, "I know what you did and I won't forget it."

Meaning of "Both"

The word "both" is used to refer to two people or things. It is a word that can be included in a sentence to call attention to the fact that the statement made applies to two people or things.

"Both" can be a pronoun, determiner, or default.

Using "Both" to emphasize "In"."Thank you both" or "Thank you both"

The phrase "thank you" can be used in both the singular and the plural. That means you can use this to thank a single person, two people, or a group of people. For example, imagine an actor who receives an award, walks on stage, and says "thank you" into the microphone with emotion.

So why, when, use the word "both"?

The word "both" emphasizes that the statement you are making includes both of your intended audiences.

For example, imagine that a couple invited you to dinner. At dinner, you thank them, but one of them downplays your role in preparing dinner, saying that his wife did most of the work. At the end of dinner, you may want to use the word "both" to show that you are grateful to both of you, even if one of you doesn't feel worthy of that appreciation. In this case, you can use "thank you both" and "thank you both".

WHAT IS THE RIGHT ADVICE? SHOULD YOU USE "THANKS TO TWO" OR "THANKS TO TWO"?

So which of the two expressions should you use? "Thank you both" or "Thank you both"?

The truth is that both are correct and have the same meaning in many different contexts. In the sentence "Thank you both," "both" means "both."

The most important thing to remember is that with both expressions you are thanking two people. It won't work for one person, and it won't work for more than two either.

So what's the difference between "thank you both" or "thank you both"?

If both sentences are correct to thank two people, what is the difference?

Actually, the differences are quite subtle.

In the phrase "thank you both", "thank you" is considered a sentence, which means that the words "thank you" and "you" cannot be separated.

On the other hand, in the sentence "thank you both," the word "thank you" is a noun, so it's okay to separate it from the word "you."

"Thank you" as a phrase

The term "thanks to" has an interesting twist in that it is also used as an idiom. You can use it to show that you know that something was accomplished with the help of another person. Or in other words, that something happened because of someone. For example, if your parents told you about a job offer they saw online, you might say:

• Thanks to my parents, I got a new job.

If you want to thank them directly, you can say:

• Thanks to you two, I got a new job.

The same structure can also be used sarcastically. For example, if your friends are late to pick you up at the train station, you can say:

• Thanks to Sally and Hannah, we missed the train.
• Thanks to you two we missed the train.

As you can see, you can only use "thank you both" in this context. Using "thank you both" would be incorrect.

This is the only time you can use one term but not the other when choosing between "thank you both" or "thank you both".

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

How to thank a group of more than two people

What if you want to thank more than two people? As we saw earlier, the word "both" can only be applied to contexts where two people are being thanked. So "thank you both" or "thank you both" are appropriate in this context.

So if you wanted to thank larger groups of people, how would you go about it?

Read on for some examples of the proper way to thank a group of people:

• thanks to everyone
• Thanks to all of you
• thank you all here
• I thank each and every one of you.
• Thanks to my family who have always supported me.
• thank you all or thank you all

Different ways to say thank you

Did you know that there are hundreds of ways to say thank you in English, maybe even more? Many of them don't even contain the word "thank you." These are some of our favorites:

• Thanks a lot
• Thanks a lot
• Please accept my infinite gratitude.
• Prost
• I appreciate
• I am very grateful
• Say hello to my mom for always supporting me
• Thanks from the bottom of my heart
• Pro

What is your favorite way to say thank you? Post yours in the comments below.

So, in summary, it is grammatically correct to use "thank you both" and "thank you both" in various contexts. Only when it is expressed "due to"; Why; because” you could simply use “thank you two” and not “thank you two”.

We hope you now feel more confident using the two terms more or less interchangeably and know the context in which to use them.