Your vs. You’re
“Your” is a possessive determiner used before a noun; “you’re” is the contraction of “you are.” The most reliable diagnostic is expansion: if “you are” fits the sentence, use “you’re”; if the word marks something belonging or relating to the person addressed, use “your.”
Use “you’re” when you can expand it to “you are”: “You’re ready” → “You are ready.” Use “your” before a noun to show possession or association: “your phone,” “your idea.” The apostrophe in “you’re” marks omitted letters, not possession.
Key details
Choose the right form
| What you mean | Choose | Test |
|---|---|---|
| belonging or relating to you | your | Usually followed by a noun: your plan. |
| you are | you’re | Expand to “you are.” |
| formal context where contractions are avoided | you are | Spell out the contraction if the style/register calls for it. |
Register can affect whether to contract “you are,” but it does not change the grammatical difference between “your” and “you’re.”
Quick tests
you-are expansion
Can the word be expanded to “you are” without changing the intended meaning?
If yes: Use “you’re” (or write “you are” if the register calls for no contraction).
If no: If you mean possession/association before a noun, use “your.”
Caveat: Use this as a diagnostic cue, not as a universal replacement rule; sentence meaning and grammatical structure still control the final choice.
following-noun test
Does the word directly determine a noun, as in ___ phone or ___ idea?
If yes: “Your” is the normal possessive determiner.
If no: Try the “you are” expansion before deciding.
Usage notes
Further guidance
Expansion Test
Replace “you’re” with “you are.” If the expanded sentence is grammatical and keeps the intended meaning, the contraction is appropriate.
Register note
Cambridge notes that contractions are common in everyday speech and informal writing and may be less appropriate in some formal writing. That is a register choice, not a reason to spell “you’re” as “your.”
Your Is Possessive
Cambridge classifies “your” as a determiner meaning belonging or relating to the person or people being addressed.
Youre Is You Are
Cambridge defines “you’re” as the short form or contraction of “you are.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Your — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Your as possessive determiner
- You're — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · You're as contraction of you are
- Contractions — Cambridge Grammar (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Contraction formation and register
Related across sections
These links are manually reviewed for a genuine cross-section connection.
Apostrophes and Possessives in Title Case
Apostrophes can mark possession, contractions, or omitted initial letters, and those uses should not be confused with quotation marks. Chicago also has specific title-case examples for initial-apostrophe contractions and for the compound form “O’Clock.”