Let’s talk about contractions. I mentioned them last month in the context of using apostrophes correctly. Some words that are contracts are some of the frequent flier mistakes that trip up writers on a regular basis. Here are three to keep an eye on.
1. You’re vs. your
“You’re” is the shortened form of “you” + “are”.
Ex. “You’re definitely in trouble,” she said, shaking her head as she surveyed the utter disaster that had previously been the kitchen.
“Your” is possessive.
Ex. “Your dog has been in my yard every day this week. It has to stop!” Mr. Viking glared through smudged glasses and stalked away.
Ex. “It seems that Mr. Viking has failed to recognize the irony of his statement,” Dan said, smirking while patting Mr. Pickles’ head. “He has been in your yard every day this week telling you you’re a menace.”
2. It’s vs. its
This error is one that probably gets more print space than any other common mistake out there, but it happens SO often that I’ll go ahead and add my two cents.
“It’s” is formed by “it” + “is”.
Ex. It’s time to start exercising again now that the kids are in school.
“Its” is possessive.
Ex. Its shell is dark green and brown.
Ex. It’s hard to tell what its favorite food is—lettuce or broccoli.
3. We’re vs. were vs. where
This last one is mostly tricky if the way that you pronounce these words is similar.
“We’re” is “we” + “are”.
“Were” is the past tense form of “to be”.
“Where” is either a noun or an adverb.
Ex. We’re [we are] excited to go on vacation, but where we are going, there were a lot of COVID cases, so now we’re [we are] worried.
A simple way to help you decide which form to use is to try both forms in the sentence that you’re writing.
Decide between *your* and *you’re* in this sentence:
I hope you’re happy now.
Do you want to say “I hope *you are* happy” or “I hope *your* happy”??
Of course, you mean to say *you are* which means you need the contraction “you’re” and not the possessive “your.”
What Do You Think?
Which of these three is the hardest for you? I still say “it is” to myself to make sure that it fits in any sentence I’m writing.
Dayna Betz is a full-time freelancer providing proofreading and editing services to help writers put their best foot forward. She also enjoys reading and writing book reviews. Head over to her site, Betz Literary, to learn more.
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