Commonly Confused Words

Your vs. You're

1 min read

Your shows that something belongs to you.

Your phone is ringing. (The phone belongs to you.)
I love your new haircut.
Is this your water bottle?

You're is the short form of you are.

You're late again. (You are late.)
You're doing a great job.
I think you're ready for the test.

💡 Tip

Try replacing “you’re” with “you are” in your sentence. If it still makes sense, use “you’re.” If not, use “your.”

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

I think ___ going to love this movie.

Discover the app: Shaky English

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Other similar rules

Agreement rules

Word Order in Questions

Questions in English follow a fixed word order. If you change it by mistake, the question can sound unnatural or confusing. Here is how to build questions correctly. In the examples below, the person...

Common mistakes

It's time we left / I'd rather you stayed / As if (unreal past)

After a few expressions, English uses a past form to talk about now or the future. Here the past does not mean past time: it shows that the situation is not real, or not real yet. The same idea works...

Common confusions

That vs. Which

Confused about when to use that or which? You’re not alone. Even native speakers find it hard, but a few rules help. That That gives essential information: it tells you which one you mean. Without i...

A bit of theory

A lot vs. Allot vs. Alot

Do you write a lot, allot, or alot? Only two of these are real words. The third one is a mistake to avoid. A lot A lot (two words) means “a large amount” or “many.” It’s a little informal but very c...

Common confusions

Historic vs. Historical

Historic and historical look almost the same, but they are used differently. Both relate to the past, but the meaning changes depending on the type of event or object you’re talking about. Historic H...

Conjugation

Go home (no "to")

In English, we usually say go to + place (go to the park, go to the office). However, some common place words do not use to. The most important one is home. 1. “Go home” (no “to”) Here, home works li...

Conjugation

Some vs. Any

Some and any both talk about an amount of something when the exact number is not important. We use them before plural words (books, apples) and before things we cannot count (bread, money). But we use...

Common mistakes

I've lived here since 2018 (not 'I live here since 2018')

In many languages, the present tense works for something that started in the past and is still true: "j'habite ici depuis 2018". In English, the present is wrong here. You need the present perfect. 1...

Commonly Confused Words

Your vs. You're

1 min read

Your shows that something belongs to you.

Your phone is ringing. (The phone belongs to you.)
I love your new haircut.
Is this your water bottle?

You're is the short form of you are.

You're late again. (You are late.)
You're doing a great job.
I think you're ready for the test.

💡 Tip

Try replacing “you’re” with “you are” in your sentence. If it still makes sense, use “you’re.” If not, use “your.”

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

I think ___ going to love this movie.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Agreement rules

Word Order in Questions

Common mistakes

It's time we left / I'd rather you stayed / As if (unreal past)

Common confusions

That vs. Which

A bit of theory

A lot vs. Allot vs. Alot

Common confusions

Historic vs. Historical

Conjugation

Go home (no "to")

Conjugation

Some vs. Any

Common mistakes