Ask Fran

April, 2010

The Question:

I keep receiving e-mails from people with the same grammatical error – “Your going to love this new product” or “Your right when you say that the economy is getting better,” for example.  Can you help? See you soon, teach !  --Ben Waldron, Executive Director of the MODC (Monmouth Ocean Development Council)

Yikes!  It’s true a lot of people are sloppy about using “your” and “you’re,”  two words that sound the same but have totally different meanings.

The word “your” shows possession.  I like YOUR smile.  Is that YOUR business card?  The word “you’re” is a contraction of two words:  you are.  YOU’RE (YOU ARE) going to love this new product.  I heard YOU’RE (YOU ARE) moving to Guam. 

If you cannot say “you are” for the “your” in your sentence, you know you have chosen the wrong word. 

I know you’re (you are) not going to mix up these words again!  If you do, Ben has your (can’t say “you are”) e-mail!