You're or Your?
The Quick Answer
You're is short for you are.Your shows that something belongs to "you" or is related to "you" (e.g., your car, your father).
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You're and Your
Some writers are confused by you're and your.A mistake involving these constitutes a grammatical howler.Click on the Two Correct Sentences
(Interactive Game)
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You're
You're is a contraction of you are. It has no other uses. This is a 100% rule. If you cannot expand it to youare in your sentence, then it is wrong.Examples:
- The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
(Lily Tomlin)
(Expands to you are ¨C correct) - Doing nothing is very hard to do. You never know when you're finished.
(Leslie Nielsen)
(Expands to you are ¨C correct) - Please askJoan to post the parcel when you're in London.
- You saidthat you couldn't believe you're ears.
Your
The word your sits before another word (usually a noun or apronoun) to show that it belongs to "you" (e.g., your car, your arm), is of "you" (e.g., your picture, your photograph) or is related to "you"(e.g., your uncle).Your is a possessiveadjective. (Other possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their.)
Examples:
- Our expert will answer your questions about pensions and savings.
- Sarah doesn't look like your sister.
A Video Summary
Here is a short video summarizing the difference between Your and You're.Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
See Also
adverse or averse?affect or effect?appraise or apprise?avenge or revenge?bare or bear?complement or compliment?dependant or dependent?discreet or discrete?disinterested or uninterested?e.g. or i.e.?envy or jealousy?imply or infer?its or it's?material or materiel?poisonous or venomous?practice or practise?principal or principle?tenant or tenet?who's or whose?What are adjectives?What are nouns?What are pronouns?What are absolute possessives?What possessive adjectives?List of easily confused words