You’re vs Your:
This is an unbelievably simple concept that people just don’t seem to grasp. This is one of the most common mistakes I see, so I will attempt to explain it first. Obviously.
‘You’re’ is a contraction. If you don’t know, a contraction is a combination of two words, usually joined together with an apostrophe. ‘You’re’ is short for ‘you are’. See? Simple. ‘Your’ is usually a possessive word. Example: “Is that dog yours?” or “Your eyes are blue”. Examples for ‘you’re’: “You’re an idiot” or “You’re coming, right?” NOT, “Your an idiot.”
In short, if you’re (example!) confused as to which of these words to use, just ask yourself if it can be replaced with ‘you are’. Example: “You’re stupid” = “You are stupid”. “Your hat” does not equal “You are hat”.
There, Their, and They’re:
This is a bit harder since there are three words, but it’s still easy. Most people use ‘there’ as a replacement for the other two. A lot of them are wrong, even if ‘there’ is the most common of these three (disclaimer: that was not an actual statistic). ‘They’re’ is another contraction. It’s short for ‘they are’. Just use the same method for ‘they’re’ as we did for ‘you’re’. Ask yourself if it can be replaced with ‘they are’. Example: “They’re coming at six”. NOT, “There coming at six”.
‘Their’ is the possessive word of these three. Example: “Their car was broken down” or “That cat is theirs”. ‘Their’ is almost always used when talking about someone else, or ‘them’.
‘There’ is a bit trickier, but most of the time it’s used to refer to a general place or location. Example: “It’s over there” or “There it is”. Basically, it’s used a lot. So, when it is not ‘they are’ and you’re not talking about ‘them’, it’ll be ‘there’.
Alot vs A Lot
Ok, this is the easiest thing I will ever explain to anybody ever. ‘Alot’ is not a word. It doesn’t exist. ‘A lot’ is the actual form of the word that does exist. ‘Alot’ is a myth. ‘A lot’ is two words that express an abundance of something and is frequently misspelled. Really, just put a space between ‘a’ and ‘lot’ and you’ll be fine. It’s not hard, I promise. Get it? Got it? Good.
This is an unbelievably simple concept that people just don’t seem to grasp. This is one of the most common mistakes I see, so I will attempt to explain it first. Obviously.
‘You’re’ is a contraction. If you don’t know, a contraction is a combination of two words, usually joined together with an apostrophe. ‘You’re’ is short for ‘you are’. See? Simple. ‘Your’ is usually a possessive word. Example: “Is that dog yours?” or “Your eyes are blue”. Examples for ‘you’re’: “You’re an idiot” or “You’re coming, right?” NOT, “Your an idiot.”
In short, if you’re (example!) confused as to which of these words to use, just ask yourself if it can be replaced with ‘you are’. Example: “You’re stupid” = “You are stupid”. “Your hat” does not equal “You are hat”.
There, Their, and They’re:
This is a bit harder since there are three words, but it’s still easy. Most people use ‘there’ as a replacement for the other two. A lot of them are wrong, even if ‘there’ is the most common of these three (disclaimer: that was not an actual statistic). ‘They’re’ is another contraction. It’s short for ‘they are’. Just use the same method for ‘they’re’ as we did for ‘you’re’. Ask yourself if it can be replaced with ‘they are’. Example: “They’re coming at six”. NOT, “There coming at six”.
‘Their’ is the possessive word of these three. Example: “Their car was broken down” or “That cat is theirs”. ‘Their’ is almost always used when talking about someone else, or ‘them’.
‘There’ is a bit trickier, but most of the time it’s used to refer to a general place or location. Example: “It’s over there” or “There it is”. Basically, it’s used a lot. So, when it is not ‘they are’ and you’re not talking about ‘them’, it’ll be ‘there’.
Alot vs A Lot
Ok, this is the easiest thing I will ever explain to anybody ever. ‘Alot’ is not a word. It doesn’t exist. ‘A lot’ is the actual form of the word that does exist. ‘Alot’ is a myth. ‘A lot’ is two words that express an abundance of something and is frequently misspelled. Really, just put a space between ‘a’ and ‘lot’ and you’ll be fine. It’s not hard, I promise. Get it? Got it? Good.