The effect of grain size on the tensile plastic deformation of ultrafine-grained copper polycrystals is investigated using a two-dimensional simulation of dislocation dynamics. Emphasis is put on the elementary mechanisms governing the yield stress in multislip conditions. Whatever the grain size, the yield stress is found to follow a Hall–Petch law. However, the elementary mechanism controlling slip transmission through the grain boundaries at yield is observed to change with the grain size. For the larger grain sizes, the stress concentrations due to dislocations piled-up at grain boundaries are responsible for the activation of plastic activity in the poorly stressed grains. For the smaller grain sizes, the pile-ups contain less dislocations and are less numerous, but the strain incompatibilities between grains become significant. They induce high internal stresses and favor multislip conditions in all grains. Based on these results, simple interpretations are proposed for the strengthening of the yield stress in ultrafine grained metals.