Home of English Grammar

Grammar Guide
  • Home
  • Exercises
  • Rules
  • Test Yourself
  • Tools
    • Grammar Checker
    • Word Counter
  • Top Social Media Posts
  • Writing Guides
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Difference / Your vs You’re

Your vs You’re

May 10, 2017 - pdf

Your and you’re are among the pairs of homophones even many English native speakers often confuse. Today, we will identify the differences and uses of your and you’re

The word your is the possessive form of the pronoun you and is used as as a second-person possessive adjective meaning “of or relating to you or yourself or yourselves especially as possessor or possessors.” Since it is a possessive adjective, it is always followed by a noun or a gerund, which belongs to or are associated with you.

Fingerprint, face scan, or password: what’s the best way to unlock your Galaxy S8?
The Verge

The Surprising Ways You Ruined Your Interview Before You Even Opened Your Mouth
Fast Company

Sorry, vegetarians. A new study says eating green won’t lower your risk of early death
National Post

On the other hand, the term you’re is simply a contraction of the words you and are with an apostrophe in the middle representing the missing letter “a”. Other examples of contractions are wouldn’t for would not, aren’t for are not, and can’t for cannot.

6 Questions To Ask Yourself To Know If You’re Successful
Forbes

It’s not your job, it’s you: The real reasons you’re unhappy at work
Mashable

Unsure if you’re saving enough for college? Check out these new tools
Chicago Tribune

There are two ways to check whether you are using the correct word in your sentence. First, if you are using the term your, there should be a noun or a gerund after it. If there is none, then it probably isn’t the right word to use. Second, if you are using you’re in your sentence, you can try to substitute you’re with you are and see if it still makes sense. If not, then you should probably use the term your.

Example 1:

Incorrect: Your the best friend I have ever had.

You actually want to say “you are”, therefore:

Correct: You’re the best friend I have ever had.

Example 2:

Incorrect: I can’t believe you’re entry has been disqualified.

Whose entry has been disqualified?

Correct: I can’t believe your entry has been disqualified.

  • Share
  • Post
  • Send
  • Mail
2,485,429 
716,032 

Grammar Checker

GrammarCheck.net - Try online
Hint → Bookmark GrammarCheck for future use.

Latest Exercises

  • Tenses Gap Filling Exercise for ESL Students June 6, 2025
  • General Grammar Exercise for Intermediate Level Learners June 4, 2025
  • Say, Ask, Tell June 3, 2025
  • Gap Filling Grammar Exercise for ESL Students June 1, 2025
  • General Grammar Exercise for ESL Students June 1, 2025
  • Countable And Uncountable Exercise for ESL Students May 31, 2025
  • B1 Grammar Exercise for Intermediate Level Students May 30, 2025
  • Countable and Uncountable Nouns – Common Mistakes May 26, 2025
  • All, All of, Some, Some of, Many, Many of May 24, 2025

Copyright © 2025 · EnglishGrammar.org
Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap