Literacy

Common Grammar Goofs

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The difference between your and you're

You're is the contraction of You are, the apostrophe showing the "a" is missing.

Examples:

You're going to be late!

You're really tall.

Your is a possessive adjective. It describes a noun by telling us to whom it belongs, as in, "I love your new dress!" (The dress belongs to you.) Other possessive adjectives are: my, his, her, their, and our.

Examples:

Your phone is better than mine.

What is your name?

Rule: if you're able to replace the word with "you are," you're saying you're.

Try this Your vs. You're Quiz

The difference between there, their and they're

They're is the contraction of They are, the apostrophe showing the "a" is missing.

Examples:

They're working hard this week.

They're very interested in helping out.

There is used as an introductory subject is sentences with "There is" and "There are". It is also used as an adverb of place meaning "in that place".

Examples:

There are many people in that room.

That's my house over there.

Their is a possessive adjective. It describes a noun by telling us to whom it belongs, as in, "I love their new car!" (The car belongs to them).

Examples:

Their house is in Birmingham.

She liked their music.

"Look over there [location], they're [they are] using their phones [possession]"

Try this They're vs. Their vs. There Quiz

When to use Capital Letters

1. Use a capital letter for the personal pronoun 'I':

What can I say?

2. Use a capital letter for days of the week, months of the year, holidays:

Monday, Tuesday, January, February, Christmas, Armistice Day

3. Use a capital letter for people's names and titles:

Anthony, William Shakespeare, Professor Cox, Dr Jones, Captain Kirk, King Henry VIII

For a longer list click here