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Grammar 101: Your vs. You're

July 25, 2013 by Emilee Evans

Grammar help
I am going to start with the grammar mistake I see the most because I’m not very good at ignoring the elephant in the room. So, instead of ignoring it, I want to address this common mistake right off the bat. Most commonly “your” is used when “you’re” needs to be used. Once in a while, though, I see the reverse. Let’s start by breaking them down.
Your: possessive pronoun. Belonging to you.
A few examples of using “your” are:

  • Followed by a noun (person, place, or thing). “This is your hat.”
  • Followed by an adjective that is describing a noun. “This is your red hat.”
  • Followed by a verb ending in “ing.” “I am trying to concentrate, but your talking is distracting.”
  • Followed by an adverb that is describing a verb ending in “ing.” “I am trying to concentrate, but your loud talking is distracting.”

In all cases you own the object or action and whether there is a descriptive word or not, there will definitely be an object or action that is possessed by you.
You’re: contraction of you are.
A few examples of using “you’re” are:

  • You’re a great friend.
  • I really think you’re generous!

“You’re” can precede both nouns and adjectives. If it precedes a noun or an adjective describing a noun it should also have an article like “the,” “a,” or “an.” It can also precede an adjective by itself since it is, after all, describing you. Some confusion comes in because “you’re” CAN also precede a verb ending in “ing.”

Tips to prevent getting them confused:

When it doubt, replace the word with “you are.”
If the meaning of the sentence is correct with “you are,” the correct option to use is “you’re.” Let’s look at an example:
“Don’t forget sunblock if your going to the beach.”
Ouch. I didn’t even like to type that. This is an example where the general rules I explained wouldn’t help because it’s a verb ending in “ing,” so either could be an option. So, let us look at “your” in this case, though, and see if saying “you are” makes sense.
“Don’t forget sunblock if you are going to the beach.”
It does! That means “you’re” is the appropriate choice for this sentence instead of “your.” When in doubt, ALWAYS use the “you are” check because it can give you the answer 100% of the time. I will share other general tips, but I stress this is a guaranteed way to make sure you are using the correct option.
If the next word you will be using is an article (a, an, or the) the correct option is “you’re.”
If you are writing a sentence and have written “your” followed by an article (a, an, or the) I suggest going back and changing it to “you’re.” “Your” is a possessive pronoun and will be followed directly by the object or action possessed or the word that describes it but NEVER an article.
If there is no article (a, an, or the) before a noun the correct option is “your.”
“You’re” can definitely be followed directly by adjectives and verbs ending in “ing,” but when followed by a noun it must have an article before the noun. This is obviously the opposite of the above rule, so you can think of it both ways. Don’t get confused by thinking “you’re” HAS to have an article immediately after it, though, because it doesn’t! It only has to have an article before a noun. If this is too confusing to remember, I recommend using one of the other tips to help keep them straight.
I hope you have found these tips helpful! If anybody else has tips to share on how they differentiate between “your” and “you’re” please share! Please, though, DON’T ignore the elephant in the room. It may not seem like a big deal, but as you can see, they are VERY different. It IS important to use them correctly whether you are a writer, blogger, business owner, or are teaching your children.
Stay tuned for my next Grammar 101 post where I will be hashing out the differences between “there,” “their,” and “they’re.” Each week I will also share a grammar resource I love! I may share two Grammar 101 posts in one week, so both posts will have the same resource that week.
*View all posts in my Grammar 101 series*
 

Grammar Resource of the Week

This week’s grammar resource is Gramatically Correct! I LOVE this book! *Please note this is my Amazon affiliate link, and I do receive a small portion of the sale if you do purchase it or anything else during that shopping trip. This supports my site and our family, and I really appreciate it! I am recommending this book because I have found it to be a great resource, though. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.*

 
 

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Filed Under: Grammar 101 Tagged With: Grammar, grammar 101, grammar help

Comments

  1. brandi hawn says

    July 25, 2013 at 10:23 am

    this is helpful, i wish more ppl read this. i hate when i see misused grammar like that, it drives me crazy for some reason lol

    • Emilee Roberts says

      July 25, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      I wish it drove more people crazy because it might have become less of a problem!

  2. Krista Bainbridge says

    July 25, 2013 at 6:25 pm

    This needs to be shared with everyone! You’re going to be famous with your grammar lessons! 😉

    • Emilee Roberts says

      July 25, 2013 at 11:01 pm

      Ha! One thing is for certain, I am going to have to tread the waters carefully.

  3. Borsch says

    July 25, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    noone cares, its street culture

    • Emilee Roberts says

      July 25, 2013 at 11:00 pm

      Therein lies the problem. People SHOULD care. If you run a website, blog, or business it’s* NOT street culture. It’s a profession. How people perceive you and what you represent rides on how you present yourself, your website, blog, or business. If someone doesn’t care, then I would believe they don’t care about servicing their customers, readers, etc. either.

      • Cheshire Cat says

        July 25, 2013 at 11:35 pm

        I agree with you Emilee especially since our blogs are read by people everywhere, though I am guilty of the their/there crime on occasion.

        • Emilee Roberts says

          July 25, 2013 at 11:49 pm

          I make mistakes, too! One of the reasons I’m writing this series, though, is to help others, though, so I do hope you find my next post helpful since that will be my topic!

    • Guest says

      July 25, 2013 at 11:07 pm

      no one*

    • Krista Bainbridge says

      July 25, 2013 at 11:07 pm

      Based on the grammar in your statement, it’s clear that you do not care, which is fine for you – but why comment on a post about grammar then? Using appropriate language is a sign of respect, it has nothing to do with being part of a street culture. I am far more likely to read and respect what someone says, if they respect me enough to use good grammar, proper punctuation and appropriate capital letters.

    • Elisebet F says

      July 26, 2013 at 9:30 am

      I care.

  4. Stephanie Lockwood says

    July 25, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    I can’t tell you how much I heart this post. Though I don’t speak up about it often, it really bothers me… then/than, your/you’re, their/they’re/there… grr

    • Emilee Roberts says

      July 25, 2013 at 11:16 pm

      They are all on my list for future posts in the series!

  5. Michele Pleasants says

    July 26, 2013 at 8:44 am

    Love this as well! Making all my kiddos read it today for school!

    • Emilee Roberts says

      July 26, 2013 at 7:25 pm

      That’s great! 🙂

  6. Cassandra Schmigotzki says

    July 26, 2013 at 1:09 pm

    Every once in a while I find that I’ve made a grammatical error like this but it’s usually because I’m going too fast. I kind of shudder a little when I see the errors, no matter who’s made them.

    • Emilee Roberts says

      July 26, 2013 at 7:26 pm

      Oh yes, I do, too. I always read over everything and fix errors when I see them!

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