«A frighteningly large percentage of individuals fail to understand the difference between the words you're and your.»



  • You're is a contraction of the words you and are. Other contractions are doesn't for does not, can't for cannot, and aren't for are not.
  • Your is the possessive form of you. It refers to something someone has.

Have a look at these examples:

  • "I can't read you're handwriting."
    • To see the problem here, just spell it out: "I can't read you are handwriting". Doesn't make much sense, does it?
  • "Your very smart."
    • Does "very smart" belong to the person? How about saying in your head what you mean: "You are very smart". And if it happens to be you are you can contract it to you're.

Tips

  • Keep in mind that the word your will never be followed by the words the, a, or an.
  • Most of the times your will not be followed by an adjective. Though that is not always the case.
  • You're is a combination of two words. Never forget that.
  • If you're unsure what to use, just imagine: Would you are work? If so, you're good to go with you're. If not, just go with your.


Hope this helps!



Daniel Arndt