I believe that many people write you’re as your because they pronounce you’re in the same way that they pronounce your.
Given that they always hear your, they always write your.
Month: October 2007
“THATS HOT / YOUR NOT”
Apostrophes, Common English BlundersI saw this on a T-shirt.
Problems:
1. “THATS” is missing an apostrophe.
2. “YOUR” is not the correct word.
Explanations:
1. The full sentence is “That is hot.” The contraction of “That is” eliminates the space and the “i” and requires an apostrophe to indicate the contraction.
2. The full sentence is “You are not.” The contraction of “You are” eliminates the space and the “a” and requires an apostrophe to indicate the contraction.
Solution:
“THAT’S HOT / YOU’RE NOT”
“Making Referrals are Easy”
Common English Blunders, NumberI saw this as an article title in an employee newsletter.
Problems:
1. The verb in the title is wrong.
2. The verb should be capitalized.
Explanations:
1. The verb goes with “Making” and not with “Referrals”. You should not say, “Making bread are easy.” You should not say, “Making chocolate-chip cookies are easy.” It doesn’t matter what you are making; it’s the making that is easy. To test this, turn around “Making referrals are easy.” You should not say, “It are easy to make referals.” Instead, you should say, “It is easy to make referrals.”
2. Verbs in titles should be capitalized.
Solution:
“Making Referrals Is Easy”