Your australian aint you?
How to Use You're and YourA frighteningly large percentage of individuals fail to understand the difference between the words "you're" and "your". Here is a quick and dirty crash course on this common usage problem.
Grammar And SpellingSteps1. Understand the proper usage of the word you're. It is a contraction, or a combination of the words you and are. Other examples of contractions include doesn't, they're, and can't.
"You're a good friend." ("YOU ARE a good friend.")
"I don't know what you're talking about." ("I don't know what YOU ARE talking about.")
2. Understand the proper usage of the word your. The word your is the possessive form of you, referring to something that a person has, or something that belongs to the person in discussion [or, the person you are talking to].
"Is your stomach growling?"
"Your book is on the table."
Take a look at some examples. Each of the following examples shows an incorrect use of your/you're, and why it is incorrect.
"I can't read you're handwriting."
Incorrect because the contraction for "you are" is being used as the possessive form of you. It should be replaced with "your". Would "I can't read you are handwriting" make sense?
"If your hungry, then you should probably eat something."
Incorrect because there is no possession in question. This should be replaced with you're, or you are. Would "If my hungry..." make sense?
"Your very smart."
Again, incorrect. The "very smart" does not belong to the person that you are talking to—this doesn't make any sense. Replace your with you're, or you are.
Keep in mind that the word your will never be followed by the words the, a, or an.
Remember that the word your will usually not be followed by an adjective [a word that describes], when that adjective is describing the person that you are talking to. In other words, saying "Your very kind" or "Your stupid" will almost never be correct.
"Your very kind" or "your stupid" would be correct if they were describing a noun.
"Your nice son brought me my coat."
Here, your nice is correct because nice is describing the person's son.
TipsRemember that you're is actually a combination of two words and thus fulfills two very important roles in a sentence or clause. Because it includes both a pronoun and a verb, you're will always be the subject and at least part of the verb of any clause in which it appears.
Try replacing “your” or “you’re” with “you are” if you are unsure which to use. If the sentence makes sense, use “you’re.” Remember that only “you’re” is a contraction, and it omits the letter “a.” The apostrophe in “you’re” signifies the omission of the letter “a.” If the sentence does not make sense, you will know to use “your.”
For example:“You’re a good writer!” → “You are a good writer!”
“You are” makes sense in this sentence, so you can use “you’re.”
”I cannot read you're handwriting.” → "I cannot read you are handwriting."
“You are” does not make sense in this sentence, so you should use “your.”
Try not to think that proper writing is strictly "academic". It makes you appear more intelligent. More importantly, it eliminates the risk of bad habits "slipping out" in situations in which it is critical to convey properness, such as writing a college essay or a job résumé.
Just remember "You're not spelling your words correctly," and it all falls into place.
While acceptable in text messaging, the increasingly popular "ur" should never be used in writing.
WarningsThere is another word, yore, that sounds just the same as you're and your. Yore refers to times long past and isn't used often in casual speech.
Simple grammatical errors, such as incorrect use of your and you're, can harm how others perceive your credibility when they read your compositions. It is in your best interests to learn how to use these words properly.
Don't overuse "you" in a speech or conversation. It may be provoking or rude. Be careful when using this pronoun because what you say may not apply to every single person in the audience. Qualify when necessary. Try using the pronoun “one,” an infinitive, or the passive voice.
No: Milk is good for you because it may help you lose weight (Some people need to desperately gain weight.)
Yes: Milk may facilitate weight loss and benefit overweight individuals.
No: When you grow up.... (You never know who in your audience is still growing up.)
Yes: When one grows up....
No: You must first read the manual. (All that I have to do is keep my clothes on, pay my taxes, and die!)
Yes: The first step is to read the manual.
No: Unfortunately, you filled the form out incorrectly.[1] (Hey! Are you accusing me? My spouse filled out that form!)
Yes: Unfortunately, the form was filled out incorrectly.
Stop raping the English language you illiterate fuck.