ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Playlist Common Grammar Mistakes 30 videos

0
Dangling Modifiers
2644 Views

This video explains what dangling modifiers are and, more importantly, how to avoid them. It provides a useful formula for using a modifying phrase...

1
Different From vs. Different Than
2854 Views

Want even more deets on Different From vs. Different Than? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

2
Either/Or, Neither/Nor, and Both/And
1283 Views

This video covers how to use either/or, neither/nor, and both/and. How do these word pairs change the meaning of a sentence? Do we use singular or...

See All

Your vs. You're 4158 Views


Share It!

Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

">

Description:

Want even more deets on Your vs. You're? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Your versus You're, a la Shmoop. You're in a verbal smackdown with the meanest

00:09

girl in class. It's time to showcase your nastiest insults...

00:14

...and your ability to differentiate "your" and "you're".

00:17

The word "your"...

00:18

...that's y-o-u-r...

00:19

...is the possessive form of the word "you". The word "you're"...

00:23

...now we're talking y-o-u-apostrophe-r-e...

00:26

...is a contraction of the words "you" and "are".

00:29

Let's look at some examples.

00:31

Say Mean Girl comes at you with the classic, "Your mama's so ugly, her portraits hang

00:35

themselves"...

00:36

Or, "Your mama's so stupid, she stared at a box of juice because it said 'concentrate'."

00:42

In these examples, Mean Girl is insulting your mother.

00:46

Pfft. Time to show this chick how real girls talk smack.

00:49

You could go with the nuclear option and tell Mean Girl, "Well, you're so fat that you're

00:54

not just a beep on the radar...

00:56

...you're a beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep."

01:03

Or, there's always, "You're so dim-witted, you probably don't even know that the state space for

01:07

position and momentum states is the space of square-integrable functions."

01:11

In these examples, the words "you" and "are" have been smashed together to form

01:15

the contraction "you're". So, just remember, y-o-u-r is the possessive

01:20

form of "you"...

01:21

...and "you're" with an apostrophe is a contraction of the words "you" and "are".

01:26

And now that you're familiar with this grammar rule...

01:28

...and clued in to some excellent insults...

01:31

...go give Mean Girl a verbal lashing she'll never forget.

Related Videos

Affect vs. Effect
10818 Views

This video explains the difference between affect and effect and provide tips for remembering which is which and when to use each one. If you suffe...

Its vs. It's
5830 Views

What’s the difference between its and it’s (spoiler alert: it’s more than just an apostrophe). This video covers the use of both of these wor...

Into vs. In To
1422 Views

Want even more deets on Into vs. In To? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

Question Marks
3733 Views

Want even more deets on Question Marks? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

Long vs. Short Sentences
2882 Views

Want even more deets on grammar? Click here for all the goods.