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Your vs. you're

Your vs. You’re (Which Word is Correct?)

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Your vs. You’re

Your and you’re (with an apostrophe) sound the same, but they are not the same. Important differences between them to note are:

👍🏼Usage Note
✓ Correct example with your. (Possessive pronoun: I like your dress.)

Correct example with you’re. (Contraction of you are: You’re going to be late.)
Incorrect example with your. (Should be you’re: Your welcome.)


  • Your is a possessive pronoun in the second person that indicates ownership, belonging or association; e.g., “is this coat yours?” Use ‘your’ to show “belonging to the person or people being spoken or written to”.


  • You’re is a contracted form of two words, you + are. As in the sentence, ‘you’re going to be late if you don’t leave now’. The apostrophe ‘re shows where certain letters are omitted to form the shortened word.



“Your” / “you’re”, used in sentences

Examples: “your”, possessive pronoun
I like your dress.

Excuse me, is this your seat?

The bank is on your right.

Dentists advise you to have your teeth checked every six months.
Examples: “you’re”, contraction of you + are
You’re really smart.

I know you’re going to love this movie.

You’re going to tire yourself out.

Do you think you’re going to the Christmas party?



Examples of other possessive pronouns

  • whose
  • yours
  • hers
  • his
  • theirs
  • mine



Other commonly confused contractions

You’re and your aren’t the only pair of possessive pronouns that get confused with contractions:


  • it’s and its
  • who’s and whose
  • they’re, their and there



Word origin (of your)

Old English eower, possessive pronominal adjective, genitive of ge “ye” (see ye), from Proto-Germanic base of you. Cognate with Old Saxon iuwar, Old Frisian iuwer, Old Norse yðvarr, Old High German iuwer, German euer, Gothic izwar “your”.



Read about other misused words

Commonly misused wordsUK English vs. US English
former vs. latterburned or burnt?
bear with vs. bare withcolor or colour?
breathe or breathfavorite vs. favourite
compliment vs. complementsmelled or smelt?
effect vs. affectgray or grey?
elude or alludefavor vs. favour
it’s or itsanalyze or analyse?



Sources

  1. Oxford Learner’s Dictionary on “your” and “you’re”. Accessed 18 March, 2024.


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