You're and Your
Some writers are confused by
you're and
your. A mistake involving these constitutes a grammatical howler.
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
you are in your sentence, then it is wrong.
Examples:
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.grammar-monster.com%2Fimages%2Fbullet_1.gif&hash=6a26d593c88eb321e5c62cff837bf5f0)
The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.grammar-monster.com%2Fimages%2Fbultick.gif&hash=a7cde0c33814f60f365d6fd420b02796)
(Lily Tomlin)
(Expands to
you are – correct)
Doing nothing is very hard to do. You never know when you're finished.
(Leslie Nielsen)
(Expands to
you are – correct)
Please ask Joan to post the parcel when you're in London.
(Expands to
you are – correct)
You said that you couldn't believe you're ears.
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.grammar-monster.com%2Fimages%2Fbulx.gif&hash=171d9eb9d3fe892160a0ec403c2b3e45)
(Does not expand to
you are – should be
your)
Your
The word
your sits before another word (usually a noun or a pronoun) 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 posessive adjective. (Other possessive adjectives are
my,
your,
his,
her,
its,
our, and
their.)
Examples:
Our expert will answer your questions about pensions and savings.
(questions belonging to "you")
Sarah doesn't look like your sister.
(related to "you")
Click to expand...
