Difference Between Your and You’re

Difference Between Your and You’re

What is the difference between your and you’re? Well, we all agree that everybody has felt the dissimilarity among these words either sooner or later in their life. These words sound the same, yet they are used in entirely different situations.

Such words are best described as being homophones. We all rely heavily on these two words for everyday communication, and that at times results in them getting mixed up. Now don’t worry, we will try to be as meticulous as possible in our explanation, so it’s easy to understand the difference between your and you’re.

Now since we are aware of them having different uses, let’s try to apprehend the principle distinction among these two. We will use a simple situation to help us understand how they are different. You are invited to a secret “super-awesome” party. All your friends have arrived while you’re running late. If only you hadn’t wasted time while reading this article. Just kidding! But notice the difference between you’re and your based on their usage in this scenario.  

Definition of Your

“Your” demonstrates possession or belonging for instance your vehicle. It commonly precedes a noun or at times, a pronoun. To sum it up, “your” shows ownership.

In the example given above where it is being stated “your friends are already there,” it means a relation towards you is being highlighted. So, wherever “your” is said or written, a sort of ownership or association towards you is implicated. That’s a big difference between your and you’re.

Definition of You’re

“You’re” is short for “you are.” It is formally called an “acronym.” It is mostly used when you feel lazy and don’t feel like writing two words. Well, frankly all of us are “kinda” lazy. However, it is be noted that “You’re” is mostly followed up by a word ending with -ing.

In the example given above where it is being stated, “you’re running late,” it is clear that “you’re” is a substitution for “you are. This conveys to us that whenever there is a need to use, “you are” somewhere in a sentence, it can easily be substituted with “you’re.” We are again going to emphasize on the fact that a word ending with -ing is utilized after the usage of “you’re.” Another good example to help you understand maybe, “Is that how you’re going to dress for the party tonight.” As you can see, this sentence also satisfies the conditions mentioned above; therefore, it is a perfect implementation of “you’re.”

Your vs You’re Comparison Table

This table will help you understand what the difference between your and you’re.

Basis of Comparison   Your You’re
Meaning It is a word which shows relation or belonging It is short for “you” and “are”
Followed by Pronoun/Noun Present Participle/Adjective
Implies Ownership or Possession Action or Description
Extended form Nill You are

Conclusion of the Main Difference Between Your vs You’re

We hope this clarifies any ambiguity you have regarding these two words. All of this relates to the basics of English, and it is an honest mistake to confuse one for the other. However, it doesn’t hurt anyone to know the contrast between the two.  

Now, we are not going to extend this discussion any further as we don’t want to create any more delays. “You’re” already late for a party. And “your” friends are already there. And you must undoubtedly be excited to brag right now about how you are an expert on the difference between you re and your.