A Moment For Grammar: Your VS You're

Oh boy! Have you ever run into anyone that some affectionately call, "the grammar police?"  Maybe you have a friend, a teacher, or even a parent who's climbed all over you for your incorrect use of the English language?  Or maybe, you are a member of the grammar police and love to correct your friends on their linguistic faux pas?

Whatever the case maybe, one such grammar war is fought over the use of "your" and "you're."   Some people think the the apostrophe shows possession, but this is another such case where the apostrophe does not help show possession.  Just like our previous discussion on "its" and "it's."

Your = Possession.  Something belongs to you.
You're = A contraction.  It is the shortened form of "you are."

Here are some examples.  "That is your book."  Or "This is your pencil."  These all use the possessive form of "you" which is written, "your."  "Your" shows that an object belongs to you, such as the pencil or the book.

"You're" is the contracted form of, "you are."  Here are some examples. "You're coming to the party aren't you?"  Or "You're such a nincompoop!"   In both sentences, "you're" can be replaced with "you are" and the sentence will still makes sense.  This is not the case with "your." 

So, the next time you come across a battle on Grammar's front-lines between the use of "your" or "you're," you can negotiate peace talks by educating the parties involved on which usage is correct one, and why.