You’re, and its possessive brother your, want you to know something. They’re tired of people (that’s probably you) misusing them in sentences. Sure, it’s no biggie for those who don’t write for a living–after all, who’s going to throw a fit over incorrect usage in an IM or email? But if you’re a freelance writer, misusing them is like a non-verbal way of saying “Hey future clients! I don’t have a good grasp of grammar!”.

If freelance writing is in your future, good grammar counts.

Learn the Meaning

Let’s get to the lesson. Here’s what both words mean in a casual sense:

You’re: This word is pretty deceptive. Why? It’s actually two words, you and are. Because we rarely say “you are” (it sounds too stiff and formal), we mush it together to make you’re.

Your: This word commonly precedes a noun, such as husband, guitar or cheese. Formally, this is called a possessive pronoun. Other examples of possessive pronouns include his, hers and mine.

Basically, you’re is a shortened form of “you are”, and your typically precedes a noun. To decide which usage is needed, try using you are in place of either word in a sentence. If it doesn’t make sense, you’re is not the correct usage. Use your instead.

Let’s Play the “Is it You’re or Your?” Game

Let’s see how well you’ve memorized both words. The answers to all of the questions are in a white font–highlight the space in the brackets ([ and ]) to see the correct answer.

Correct or Incorrect: We talked to you’re mom Judy today.

Answer: [Incorrect. Try rewriting the sentence with you are. The sentence reads as "We talked to you are mom Judy today." Doesn't make sense, huh? The correct usage is your.]

Correct or Incorrect: Where can we find your car?

Answer: [This is correct because it precedes a noun, "car". You own this car, therefore it is your car. This is the correct usage.]

Correct or Incorrect: We talked to your brother today, and he said your still sick.

Answer: [Incorrect. Your brother is correct, but your still sick is not. You don't own "still"--it's not even a noun. Try substituting you are instead. The sentence makes sense, so this is the correct usage.]

Use the Correct Word: My friend visited ____ house last Saturday.

Answer: [The word preceding the blank is a noun. Your is the correct answer.]

Use the Correct Word: He implied ____ still angry at Bob.

Answer: [Again, you can't really own "still", so it wouldn't make sense to use your here. You are would make sense, however, making you're the appropriate choice here.]

If you’re getting at least one of these questions wrong, it’s time to really study this article. Your goal should be to get all of these questions right, without needing to reference any material. Viel Glück!