Sound-alike words
Your vs. You're
Your shows ownership, as in your phone or your idea. You're is short for you are, as in you're right. If you can replace the word with you are, write you're.
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| your | determiner | belonging to or connected with you |
| you're | contraction | the short form of you are |
Your
determiner: belonging to or connected with you
- Don't forget your lunch on the counter.
- Is this your first time visiting the city?
You're
contraction: the short form of you are
- You're welcome to stay for dinner.
- Let me know when you're ready to go.
How to remember the difference
Say the sentence with you are. If it still makes sense, use you're; the apostrophe marks the missing A. If not, use your, just like our and their.
Good to know
Your is also used in a general sense to mean anyone's, as in eat your vegetables or turn left at your second light. Spell checkers often miss these errors, since both spellings are real words.
Spot the mistake
YourYou're going to love this new recipe.Correct: You're going to love this new recipe.
Is that
you'reyour bike outside the door?Correct: Is that your bike outside the door?
Check yourself
Pick the word that fits each sentence.
1. Please write name at the top of the page.
Answer: your. This shows ownership, the name that belongs to you, so use your.
2. I think going to like the ending.
Answer: you're. You can say you are going, so use the contraction you're.