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Your vs You're

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Grammar
Grammar > English Usage

Confusing Your and You're is a common mistake made by learners and native speakers alike. This article explains the difference between them and when to use them.


Difference

Your is a possesive adjective which shows that something belongs to someone or a group of people.

In the singular, it is used when speaking to one person:

Where is my coat?
You put your coat over there.

In the plural, it is used when speaking to a group of people.

Ok everyone, make sure you pick up your bags and put them on the coach.

Meanwhile, you're is a contraction of you are.

You're going to be the first to arrive.


Teaching the Difference

If a student has a problem choosing which one to use, simply explain to them that they need to expand the contraction and see if the sentence still makes sense.

Thus,

* You're car is really dirty!

becomes:

* You are car is really dirty!

which is obviously wrong.

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