Love Keeping "Your" "You're"s Straight? You'll Probably Love This Quiz!

By: Zoe Samuel
Image: mihailomilovanovic/E+/gettyimages

About This Quiz

If you're a ship, your vocabulary since the days of yore included, "pitch, roll and yaw." If you're a grammarian, you're more concerned with "your" and "you're." These two words have entirely different meanings, but they sound the same. These words are called homophones, from the Greek words for same (homo) and sound (phone.) Homophones are fairly common in the English language: think of beat (a rhythm) and beet (a vegetable), or thyme (an herb) and time (as in, tick-tock.) They're tricky when you first encounter them, but eventually, you get the hang of them...or do you?

Here's a quick primer before we get into the quiz:

"Your" is the possessive. That means, if it is your ship, your foot or your husband, they belong to you.  They are yours. Meanwhile, "you're" is a contraction of "you are." The apostrophe stands in for the missing letter "A," just as it stands in for the "O" in "don't" (a contraction of "do not.") Thus, these are all valid English sentences: You're going to the harbor to see your ship. Your foot is hurt, and you're in pain. Your wife says you're going to Paris for the holidays.

Now that we've sorted that out, you're ready to demonstrate your grammatical prowess! Let's get started!

"It's not ____ problem." Which is correct?

The possessive "your" is correct here. It's not "you are" problem...although you might be a problem. We won't make that judgment.

"____ going to enjoy this cake." Which is correct?

Who's going to enjoy the cake? You are! You're going to enjoy this cake.

"Remember to tie ____ shoelaces." Which is correct?

They are your shoelaces, unless, you ARE shoelaces, but that would be weird!

"I like ____ style." Which is correct?

It's your style, not mine! I like it!

"Do you think ____ boss would say yes?" Which is correct?

It's your boss, even if the idea of possessing your boss is strange. We understand.

"If it hurts that much, ____ overdoing it." Which is correct?

You're overdoing it! It shouldn't hurt that much.

"I think ____ going to get the job." Which is correct?

You are going to get the job! You're going to get it! Congrats!

"____ ideas are always so on point." Which is correct?

Your ideas are on point. They are YOUR ideas because they belong to you.

"You play chess like ____ a natural." Which is correct?

You play chess like you're a natural! You are a natural!

"____ new hairdo is very flattering." Which is correct?

The hair is on your head, so it's your hairstyle. Your style is flattering!

"____ so pretty in your blue dress." Which is correct?

You're so pretty. It's your dress, sure, but YOU ARE the one wearing it.

"____ going to ____ folks' place for Thanksgiving, right?" Which is correct?

You are the one going, and your folks own the house. So YOU'RE going to YOUR folks' place.

"____ presentation demonstrates that ____ a domain expert." Which is correct?

YOUR presentation demonstrates that YOU'RE a domain expert. You have the presentation but you ARE the expert.

"____ shoes are as perfect as ____ makeup." Which is correct?

The possessive is correct in both cases here. YOUR shoes and YOUR makeup are perfect.

"____ smart, ____ pretty, and gosh darn it, people like you." Which is correct?

YOU'RE smart, YOU'RE pretty, and people like you! They also love your grammar.

"____ going to be very successful in this field if ____ hard work continues." Which is correct?

YOU'RE going to be very successful in this field if YOUR hard work continues.

"____ attitude toward this chocolate cake shows me ____ not serious about eating it." Which is correct?

YOUR attitude shows me YOU'RE not serious about eating the chocolate cake. As long as you're serious about your grammar, we forgive you.

"____ the tallest, so ____ view is unobstructed." Which is correct?

YOU'RE the tallest, so YOUR view is unobstructed. You are the tall one and you own that view! Lucky you!

"____ sure ____ going to eat that huge steak?" Which is correct?

Are you sure? Are you going to eat the steak? YOU'RE sure YOU'RE going to eat that huge steak? Whatever happened to sharing?

"____ house and ____ yard are immaculate." Which is correct?

You possess the house and yard. Hence YOUR house and YOUR yard are immaculate.

"____ recent essay shows ____ really maturing as a scholar." Which is correct?

The essay is possessive, but being a scholar is an action. YOUR recent essay shows YOU'RE really maturing as a scholar.

"I'm afraid ____ son painted ____ sofa cushions." Which is correct?

I'm afraid YOUR son painted YOUR sofa cushions. At least they were yours, not someone else's. Also, maybe you need a new babysitter?

"____ room is ready and ____ going to love it." Which is correct?

YOUR room is ready and YOU'RE going to love it. The room belongs to you but the loving it is something you do (we hope.)

"____ so pretty, ____ probably a model." Which is correct?

You are so pretty, you are probably a model! Hence YOU'RE so pretty, YOU'RE probably a model. You're welcome.

"Did you say ____ going to bring ____ car?" Which is correct?

YOU'RE going to bring YOUR car. It's an action first (bringing) and then a possessive (your car.)

"____ not right, ____ actually uninformed, so ____ opinion is probably nonsense." Which is correct?

YOU'RE not right, YOU'RE actually uninformed, so YOUR opinion is probably nonsense. This is one you have to get right online, lest you give the ignorant person an opportunity to correct your grammar and thus, feel superior.

"____ parenting skills and ____ patience suggest ____ actually a saint." Which is correct?

YOUR parenting skills and YOUR patience suggest YOU'RE actually a saint. You're also probably going to raise your kids with very good grammar!

"____ good at lying ____ way out of facing backlash for ____ mistakes." Which is correct?

YOU'RE good at lying YOUR way out of facing backlash for YOUR mistakes. It's an action followed by two possessives.

"____ a dreamer, ____ a visionary, and ____ perfectly nuts." Which is correct?

YOU'RE a dreamer, YOU'RE a visionary, and YOU'RE perfectly nuts. You ARE all of these things, which very often do go together!

"Do ____ colleagues know ____ dating ____ assistant?" Which is correct?

Do YOUR colleagues know YOU'RE dating YOUR assistant? You probably shouldn't do that (most companies have a policy about it,) but if you do, use correct grammar!

"____ going to burn out and damage ____ health if ____ schedule doesn't let up." Which is correct?

YOU'RE going to burn out and damage YOUR health if YOUR schedule doesn't let up. We're not saying we can help with the schedule or the health, but at least we can help you talk about them correctly!

"____ business card is ____ ideal opportunity to introduce ____ brand." Which is correct?

The card, opportunity, and brand all belong to you. Hence, YOUR businsess card is YOUR ideal opportunity to introduce YOUR personal brand.

"____ out of ____ mind if you tell ____ boss ____ interviewing before you get another job." Which is correct?

YOU'RE out of YOUR mind if you tell YOUR boss YOU'RE interviewing before you get another job. This isn't just good grammar, it's good life advice.

"When ____ lazy, ____ ____ own worst enemy." Which is correct?

When YOU'RE lazy, YOU'RE YOUR own worst enemy. We like this one because you don't often see both forms of the word right next to each other. In this case, however, it is correct to see them like this.

"____ the top, ____ Mahatma Gandhi! ____ the top, ____ Napoleon brandy!" Which is correct?

You are all these things! Double points if you recognized that this is a lyric from Cole Porter's wonderful song, "You're the Top," a list song in which two characters who are best friends tell each other all the wonderful things they are. Cheers to our Broadway-lovin' brethren!

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