Blast from the past: it's/its and your/you're
Welcome to another installment of Blast From the Past. This week we're going to look at a couple more sets of easily confused words: it's/its and your/you're. melayneseahawk first covered them back in 2008, and then chiroho tackled them in a 2011 BftP. So let's give both of these easily confused duos another glance with a little help from our friends over at Once Upon a Time, shall we?
We can start by saying that we can actually use the same basic rule for both of these commonly confused pairs of words. It all comes down to the difference between possession and contraction. But how about a quick review the uses of these words first?
it's/its
it's: a contraction for "it is", "it was", or "it has". If you can break it down into one of these phrases, you should be using this version.
"It's time for bed, Henry," Regina replied, "not for wrestling with Ms. Swan."
its: the item belongs to "it", whatever "it" is. If you can substitute his, hers, or yours, mine, theirs, or ours and it makes sense, you should be using this.
Henry knew David spoke the truth when he said a horse knows its owner, just as the owner knows his own horse.
your/you're
you're: a contraction for "you are"
"You know you're going to have to stop running at some point, Emma," Mary Margaret replied. "It's not right to hide from commitment."
your: the item belongs to you. If you can say "It belongs to you", you should be using this.
"You know, kid, your mother is kind of a bi-- bossy person," Emma said, stumbling over her words, which made Henry chuckle.
The best way to remember which version of these word pairs to use is to ask yourself if it's a matter of owning or possessing something. If it is, use the version without the apostrophe. If it can be broken down into a subject and verb, use the other version.
We can start by saying that we can actually use the same basic rule for both of these commonly confused pairs of words. It all comes down to the difference between possession and contraction. But how about a quick review the uses of these words first?
it's/its
it's: a contraction for "it is", "it was", or "it has". If you can break it down into one of these phrases, you should be using this version.
"It's time for bed, Henry," Regina replied, "not for wrestling with Ms. Swan."
its: the item belongs to "it", whatever "it" is. If you can substitute his, hers, or yours, mine, theirs, or ours and it makes sense, you should be using this.
Henry knew David spoke the truth when he said a horse knows its owner, just as the owner knows his own horse.
your/you're
you're: a contraction for "you are"
"You know you're going to have to stop running at some point, Emma," Mary Margaret replied. "It's not right to hide from commitment."
your: the item belongs to you. If you can say "It belongs to you", you should be using this.
"You know, kid, your mother is kind of a bi-- bossy person," Emma said, stumbling over her words, which made Henry chuckle.
The best way to remember which version of these word pairs to use is to ask yourself if it's a matter of owning or possessing something. If it is, use the version without the apostrophe. If it can be broken down into a subject and verb, use the other version.