Grammar · Commonly confused words · A2 · Elementary

Your vs You're

Last updated 21 July 2026

In short

Your is a possessive determiner meaning 'belonging to you': 'Is this your bag?' You're is a contraction of 'you are': 'You're late.' Expand the word to 'you are' — if the sentence still makes sense, write you're; if it doesn't, write your.

Your vs you're at a glance

	Your	You're
Function	Possessive determiner — belonging to you	Contraction of 'you are'
Apostrophe	Never has an apostrophe	Always has an apostrophe
Expansion test	Cannot expand to 'you are'	Expands cleanly to 'you are'
Followed by	A noun: your name, your flight, your opinion	An adjective, verb-ing, or past participle: you're right, you're joking, you're invited
Example	Your flight leaves at six.	You're going to miss your flight.
Memory trick	Your patterns like my/his/her — no apostrophe	You're = you are — expand it to check

What's the difference between your and you're?

Your, without an apostrophe, is a possessive determiner showing that something belongs to the person you're speaking to: your passport, your opinion, your turn. It always comes directly before a noun.

You're, with an apostrophe, is always short for 'you are'. If you can replace it with the two full words without changing the meaning, the apostrophe form is correct.

Could I see your ticket, please?(possession — the ticket belongs to you)
You're going to love this restaurant.(= you are going to love this restaurant)
Your right about the deadline.(expand: 'you are right' works → You're right)

How do you test which one you need?

Say the sentence with 'you are' in place of the word in question. If it still sounds natural, write you're. If it sounds broken or nonsensical, you need the possessive your instead.

A second clue is what comes next: your is almost always followed by a noun (your idea, your car), while you're is almost always followed by an adjective or an -ing/-ed verb form (you're tired, you're improving, you're welcome).

Your welcome — happy to help.(expand: 'you are welcome' works → You're welcome)
I really like you're new haircut.(expand fails ('you are new haircut') → your new haircut)
You're clearly working hard on your presentation.(both forms tested correctly)

Where does this mistake happen most?

The your/you're mix-up is one of the most common typing slips in English, partly because the words sound identical when spoken and partly because both feel 'personal' — related to the listener. Autocorrect on phones can also silently swap one for the other.

In IELTS Writing, this slip rarely changes meaning enough to confuse an examiner, but it still counts against your accuracy score, so a final read-through specifically checking every your/you're is worth the extra thirty seconds.

Your one of the most reliable students in the class.(→ You're one of the most reliable students)
Please bring your own laptop to the workshop.

Common mistakes with your vs you're

Real learner errors, corrected and explained — the fastest way to stop repeating them.

Your going to need a visa for that trip.

You're going to need a visa for that trip.

This expands to 'you are going to need', so the contraction you're is required.

Can I borrow you're charger for a minute?

Can I borrow your charger for a minute?

'Charger' belongs to the listener, so the possessive your (no apostrophe) is needed.

Your right, the meeting was rescheduled.

You're right, the meeting was rescheduled.

This expands to 'you are right', so it needs the apostrophe: you're.

I hope you're flight lands on time.

I hope your flight lands on time.

'Flight' belongs to the listener, so the possessive your is correct, not the contraction you're.

Your vs You're in IELTS

Grammatical Range and Accuracy is 25% of your Speaking and Writing scores — here is where this structure earns marks.

Speaking

Contractions like you're are natural and expected in Speaking: 'You're right, that's a good point' sounds far more fluent than always saying 'you are'.
Use your confidently when referring to the examiner's question or a shared topic: 'In your country, is this common too?' — a phrase examiners themselves often use.

Writing

Formal Task 1 and Task 2 writing avoids contractions, so you're should almost never appear in your essay — write 'you are' in full if that meaning is genuinely needed.
Before submitting, scan for every your and you're separately: read each one aloud with 'you are' substituted — if it doesn't make sense, it should be your.

Practise your vs you're now

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Check this rule in your own writing

Reading a rule is step one; seeing it in your own sentences is what changes your band score.

Paste a paragraph into the free IELTS Grammar Checker — it flags every your vs you're mistake, explains the rule, and estimates your Grammatical Range & Accuracy band.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether to write your or you're?

Replace the word with 'you are'. If the sentence still makes sense, write you're. If it doesn't — usually because a noun follows, like 'your bag' or 'your idea' — write your, the possessive form.

Is 'your welcome' or 'you're welcome' correct?

You're welcome is correct. It expands to 'you are welcome', a fixed polite response. 'Your welcome' would mean 'the welcome belonging to you', which doesn't make sense as a reply to thanks.

Why do people confuse your and you're so often?

They sound identical when spoken, so the mix-up is a spelling issue, not a pronunciation one. It happens most often in fast typing, texting, or autocorrect, which is why a final proofread catches most instances.

Does mixing up your and you're affect my IELTS score?

Yes, in Writing it counts as an accuracy error under Grammatical Range and Accuracy, even though the meaning is usually still clear. It rarely appears in Speaking transcription, but a careful final check in Writing Tasks 1 and 2 is worth doing.

Next step

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