What is the difference between these words and what does each word mean?

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   Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years ago

   What is the difference between these  words and what does each word mean?
   
   These words are often used incorrectly in sentences:  1. Your and You're, 2. Were and We're,  3. Their and There and They're.

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2. 92

   Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years ago

   Please give an example of proper usage of  each of these words in a sentence: your, you're, were, we're, their, there, they're.

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3. 60

   gposchmanposted 8 years ago

   While sometimes confusing the words definitions are pretty clear and basic.
   
   "Your" is the possessive of you, as your dog or your cat.
   You're is a contraction for you are. You're going to the movies. You are going to the movies.
   
   "Were" and "we're" are a little more confusing. The first is a verb and the past tense of are and the second is a contraction of we are.
   Where were you today?
   We're going to the movies today. We are going to the movies today.
   
   "Their", "there" and "they're"  are as follows;
   
   "Their" is the possessive of they. That is their home.
   There is a pronoun for somewhere else, not here. The boxes belong over there.
   They're is a contraction of they are. They're the  going to the movies. 
   They are going to the movies.
   
   The problem with all three sets of terms is that they sound alike, look alike, and when typing it is easy to make a mistake, and when reading them it is easy to overlook the error.

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      Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Very good and correct explanations, Gene. I was hoping that someone would write a hub on this question to help out a lot of new members who need help with words like that. Thanks for answering.

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   alancaster149posted 8 years ago

   'Your' is the possessive form, i.e: 'Your house was burnt down';
   'You're' is the contraction of 'you are;
   'We're' again is a contraction, this time of 'we are';
   'Their' is the possessive: 'they were behind with their mortgage';
   'There' is the opposite of here;
   and 'They're' is the contraction of 'they are'.
   
   "Your house was burnt down and you're to blame. We were on on our way past when we saw you pour paraffin through the letterbox. Dad said to me 'We're off before somebody thinks it was us! They're behind with their mortgage'. There wasn't much we could do anyway".
   [Insurance scam. Case closed].

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      Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Alan. Thanks for answering.

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   Dressage Husbandposted 8 years ago

   Already answered beautifully! Your question provoked thought as you're a real grammarian. They were provoked into thought and we're getting pushed into writing with more thought. Their Hubs are improving and the answers are there. They're thinking before committing their thoughts to computer, and the editors job is getting simpler.
   
   Well done, I liked the question, but it does rather seem like the real writers already knew the correct answers. So why do so many still seem to make these basic mistakes?

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      Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Stephen. Some just do not want learn. I set  these questions up for hubbers with weak grammar skills so we can correct their errors and help them learn, and produce quality hubs..

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6. 72

   Twilight Lawnsposted 8 years ago

   Phyllis,
   The answer lies in the apostrophe.
   “Your” is the possessive, as in “Your smile makes me happy, but your dog’s smile is just a showing of teeth.”
   “You’re” is an abbreviation. It is the shortened version of “you are”. So I could write “You’re an amazing person, & you’re still noted for your happy smile, but your dog is still teeth on legs.” meaning “You are an amazing person, & you are still noted for your happy smile, but your dog is still teeth on legs.”
   
   “were” & “we’re” follow the same rules.
   “were” is the past tense of plural “to be”
   “we’re” is an abbreviation of “we are”
   So in a sentence: “We were at the cinema the other night. It was so good, that we’re going again with our children. They like the idea & they are eager to join us. We’re that sort of family.”
   Without the abbreviations:
   “We were at the cinema the other night. It was so good, that we are going again with our children. They like the idea so much & they are eager to join us. We are that sort of family.”
   
   Their & There & They're are also similar
   “Their” is the plural possessive (owned by more than one)
   “There” is a pretty difficult word to explain because it has multiple functions. In verbal & written English, the word can be used as an adverb, a pronoun, a noun, an interjection, or an adjective.
   Yipes!
   “They’re” is much simpler. It’s an abbreviation: “they’re is an abbreviation of “they are”
   Enough to say that “there” can be used as a direction... “Go there” “There is the tree” “Over there” “There were many people”. The word is used here within those groups, but it is better to say what it is NOT.
   “there” is not “their”, neither is it “they’re”.
   I ran out of space so...
   
   This story involves a couple of young people named Bert & Elsie
   I’ve put brackets after each one to try to explain its function.:
   
   They’re (They are - or Bert & Elsie are) going to see their (Bert & Elsie’s) parents at Christmas time. There (Adverb) will be presents from their (Bert & Elsie’s) mother & I assume that their (Bert & Elsie’s) father will contribute. Auntie Alice & Uncle Joe with be there (at the venue) with their (belonging to Auntie Alice & Uncle Joe) ghastly offspring, but Mad Maudie’s keepers send their (Mad Maudie’s keepers’ - or the love of Mad Maudie’s keepers) love; explaining that they’re (they are) unable to be there (be in a certain place “there” noun) also; they’re too busy with their (Mad Maudie’s keepers) own celebrations & their (Mad Maudie’s keepers) time is too restricted.

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      Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Twilight. Did you read the other answers? It seems just the experts answer and the ones who need to learn do not bother to answer - probably because they wait to read the correct answers.

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