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