you are / you’re / your.

We love the simplicity of the above’s grammar correction by Prof. Paul Brians of Washington State University. You can read it here

It’s basically categorised as a common error. A most common error.

Many English proficient writers are confused by your and you’re. It could be that the rule learned in school so long ago has been forgotten. It could be a typing error that has been auto-corrected by computer word processor software. Either way, it is a grammar mistake that should not be produced.

• You’re = you are and
• your = indicates ownership/possession

Simple. Not a mere guideline – correct us if that’s wrong, but as far as we know this is a strict rule. If you can’t expand it to you’re on your sentence, then it is wrong.

Take the example in the image featured on this blog entry. Found in a recent issue of the printed magazine – NEX MEDIA.

It was a guest article by Social media specialist Olivia Colville, whose other skills include copywriting and digital marketing (but not proofreading).

The problem with the rat race is that it appears time is just an ever-precious commodity and in the search to create more of it (hint: not possible) we are sacrificing sacrosanct rules of anything from behavioural attributes to basic skills like English writing.

Let’s talk about “your”, grammatically referred to as a possessive determiner. That something belongs to the individual you are speaking about.

In a world increasingly driven by excitement and innovation, at least in the search for attention, it has become quite acceptable to break the occasional stuffy grammar rule. Often it’s preferable. But this is not such an example and it just takes away from editorial integrity, makes us look bad, and hurts efficacy leading others to think we just don’t speak proper.