English is a simple language, yet it can be confusing at times. Encountering words that sound exactly the same but differ entirely in their meaning is very common in everyday English.
Such words that have the same pronunciation are called Homophones. One such pair of homophones includes ‘your’ and ‘you’re’.
Key Takeaways
- ‘Your’ is a possessive pronoun indicating possession, while ‘you’re’ is a contraction of “you are”.
- ‘Your’ should be used when referring to something that belongs to the person being addressed, while ‘you’re’ should be used when referring to the person being addressed.
- ‘Your’ is used to indicate ownership, while ‘you’re’ is used to indicate a state of being.
Your vs You’re
“Your” is a possessive determiner that indicates ownership or belonging. It is used to show that something belongs to the person being addressed or referred to. Example: Your car is parked outside. “You’re” is a contraction of “you are”. It is used to describe a state of being or an action that someone is currently doing. Example: You’re doing a great job.
‘Your’ is the possessive degree of the pronoun ‘ you ‘. ‘Your’ is possessive, meaning that a particular thing belongs to the second person in the situation or the one being spoken to.
‘Your’ is always followed by a noun that is associated with the second person.
‘You’re’, on the other hand, is a combination of two words, ‘you’ and ‘are’. This combination of words with the use of an apostrophe is called contraction. The apostrophe in the contraction represents the unwritten letter but is present in the pronunciation.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Your | You’re |
|---|---|---|
| Contraction | ‘Your’ is not a contraction. | ‘You’re’ is a contraction of ‘ you ‘ and ‘are’. |
| Part of Speech | ‘Your’ is a possessive pronoun. | ‘You’re’ is the subject or part of the verb. |
| The Indication | ‘Your’ indicates possession. | ‘You’re’ indicates a state of being. |
| Used with | ‘Your’ is used before an adjective or a verb. | ‘You’re’ is used before a noun. |
| Writing | ‘Your’ can be used in formal writing. | ‘You’re’ is not a preference in formal writing. |
What is Your?
‘Your’ is before a noun or a pronoun to show that it belongs to the second person is of the second person, or is related to the second person.
It is a possessive adjective or possessive pronoun used when describing something the second person owns.
It is used to signify anything that belongs to the person the first person is talking to or is being talked about. ‘Your’ cannot be followed by another adjective or a pronoun as it is being used to describe something about the second person.
‘Your’ is followed by a noun or more. Unlike ‘you’re’, ‘your’ is not a contraction. For example:
- “You forgot your laptop in the classroom”. In this sentence, ‘ you ‘ own the laptop and is the second person in the conversation. Moreover, ‘your’ is followed by a noun.
- “Your clothes and shoes have gotten wet in the rain”. In this sentence, ‘your’ signifies something about the second person in the conversation and is also followed by two nouns.
‘Your’ can also be replaced with the possessive version of a noun, although that will change the sentence completely, it would be still correct.
What is You’re?
‘You’re’ is a combination of the words, ‘ you ‘ and ‘are’. This combination of words is called a contraction. Whether the word ‘you’re’ or the words ‘you are’ are used in a sentence, it means exactly the same thing.
Even though the pronunciation is similar, only the way that particular sentence is written is different. The apostrophe in the contraction represents the unwritten letter but is present in the pronunciation. In this case, ‘a’ is the missing letter.
To check the correctness of the word ‘you’re’ being used in a sentence, it should still make sense if ‘you’re’ is replaced with ‘ you are ‘. If the sentence makes the same exact meaning by replacing the word, then the word is used correctly. For example:
- “You’re a good boy Riley”. In this sentence, if we replace ‘you’re’ with ‘you are,’ then the sentence becomes, “You are a good boy Riley”. Since the two sentences make exactly the same sense, it means that ‘you’re’ is correctly executed in the sentence.
Unlike ‘your’, ‘you’re’ is not a figure of speech. In formal letters, the contractions are not preferred; therefore, instead of ‘you’re’, only the full form ‘ you are ‘ is used.
Main Differences Between Your and You’re
- ‘Your’ is a possessive adjective, whereas ‘you’re’ is a contraction.
- ‘Your’ is only a single word, whereas ‘you’re’ is a combination of two words.
- Your’ indicates possession, while on the other hand, ‘you’re’ indicates a state of being.
- ‘Your’ is followed by a verb, whereas ‘you’re’ is followed by a noun.
- ‘Your’ can be used in formal documents, whereas a contraction such as ‘you’re’ is not used formally.
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/BF03197027
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-015-9161-4_4
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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I find the post very useful. However, it would be better if the comparison table is moved closer to the beginning of the post. This way, readers can have a summary of the differences before diving into detailed explanations.
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I completely agree. The examples provided are very helpful in distinguishing the two terms.