Alright, kiddies, this hasn’t been so difficult, has it? To review, we’ve learned how to use “lie” and “lay” correctly (never to say again that you’ve been layin’ around all day), and how never to use an adverb before “unique” or “perfect.” Easy, right? My theory is that any nincompoop can consume and digest a passable amount of grammar when fed in small, palatable doses (note the really tight metaphor in this sentence).

Today’s lesson deals with two horribly abused and misused words, which I suspect fall victim to sheer laziness rather than a lack of understanding: to wit, your and you’re. If I am wanting to borrow a particularly cute pair of shoes from you, I might say, “Let me wear your shoes.” I would probably hear in return from you, “Girl, you must be kidding. You’re not stuffing your fat feet in my Louboutins!” “Your” is a possessive pronoun and must modify or describe a noun while “you’re” is a contraction of the two words, “you are,” a pronoun and a verb. As you can easily see, misuse of these two words can occur only in writing since both sound almost the same in speech (few people are capable of making that subtle distinction in pronunciation).

So, slow down your thumb texting, reflect a bit when making a comment on Facebook, and do a little editing before sending off an email to your boss, writing “Your an idiot,” because you do know the difference, and that difference can be critical. Your never going to succeed in business if you’re grammar isn’t really perfect.

And by the way, today’s title came straight from the internet. I googled it and it offered no correction, so be wary, dear readers.

Until next time, my little pronoun polluters…

image credit: girlswithslingshots.com