Study tip: YOUR vs. YOU’RE

22nd January 2017

Do you ever confuse “your” and “you’re”? In fact, it is a very common error that people make. These two words sound pretty similar but you can avoid mixing them up by reading today’s tip. It’s Sunday #StudyTip and we will show you how to use “you’re” and “your” correctly.

You’re

You’re is a contraction of you are. When you see words with an apostrophe like this, you can be sure that it is a contraction, the apostrophe stands for a missing letter (or letters) in the word.

Example:

You’re going to be late. ->  You are going to be late.

I think you’re a teacher.  -> I think you are teacher.

Your

Your is a possessive adjective and is used before a noun. We use possessive adjectives:

• To show that something belongs to someone.

Is that your new car?

That’s their house.

• For relations and friends:

How old is your brother?

Our parents are doctors. 

• For parts of the body and clothes

My mother broke her leg.

You wash your clothes every day.

Look at the other possessive adjective below.

Test yourself and keep yourself free from making mistakes while using these two words.

Why not try to incorporate these into your language when you are out with your friends or to impress your teacher during your English lessons at Celtic? There’s no better way to learn than to practise! We like to say practice makes perfect.

For more Study Tips, you can read our Study Tips posts.