Your/You’re

What is the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’?

“Your” is a possessive word. You use it when you are talking about something belonging to the person you are speaking to. For example, “your dog has a cool collar.”

“You’re” is a contraction, a shorthand version of “you are”.

How do I know whether to use ‘your’ or ‘you’re’?

The simplest way to tell whether to use “your” or “you’re”, is to replace the suspect word with “you are”. If it still makes sense, then you should be using “you’re”. Otherwise, you should be using “your”.

So, for example, imagine you were writing the following sentence:

“Where did you park you’re car?”

You would like to check if that “you’re” should really be “your”. So, replace the “you’re” with “you are”, and see how it reads:

“Where did you park you are car?”

That doesn’t sound right at all, so the correct word to use there is “your”:

“Where did you park your car?”

Using ‘your’ in a sentence | your sentence examples

• I love your new haircut, it looks great.
• Can I borrow your car this weekend?
• Did you remember to bring your umbrella?

Using ‘you’re’ in a sentence | you’re sentence examples

• I hope you’re enjoying your vacation in Hawaii.
• I can tell you’re not feeling well today.
• You’re such a great friend for helping me out.