Word
your
US/ˈjɔɹ/
UK/jˈɔː/
Definition
det. belonging to you or related to the person being spoken to. You use this to show that something is yours.
det. the possessive form of the second-person pronoun 'you'. Functions as a possessive determiner rather than a true pronoun.
Examples
“Is this your coat?”
“Please make sure you have all your personal belongings before you leave the train.”
“The success of the project depends entirely on your ability to coordinate with the various departments and manage your time effectively during the final week.”
Examples
simple
“Is this your coat?”
contextual
“Please make sure you have all your personal belongings before you leave the train.”
complex
“The success of the project depends entirely on your ability to coordinate with the various departments and manage your time effectively during the final week.”
Usage
Always placed before a noun or an adjective-noun phrase.
Pitfall
I like you're car
I like your car
Learners often confuse the possessive determiner 'your' with the contraction 'you're' (you are).
Confusables
Your shows ownership, while you're is the shortened form of you are.
RememberIf you can swap it for 'you are', use you're.
Etymology
From Middle English your, youre, ȝour, ȝoure, from Old English ēower, īower (“your”, plural), from Proto-West Germanic iuwar, from Proto-Germanic izweraz. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jou (“your”), Dutch jouw (“your”), German Low German jo, jos (“your”), German euer (“your”, plural), Danish jeres (“your”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Grammar
For Spanish speakers
Grammar Spanish 'su' serves both the second person (usted) and the third person (él/ella), so 'your' is used where English needs 'his' or 'her'.
For Mandarin speakers
Pronunciation Mandarin lacks the post-alveolar approximant /r/ in the coda position, so speakers frequently substitute it with a neutral schwa /ə/ or omit the rhoticity entirely, pronouncing 'your' as /jɔː/ rather than /jɔːr/.
Grammar Mandarin does not distinguish between subject and possessive pronouns through inflection; the possessive is formed by adding the particle '的 (de)' to the pronoun '你 (nǐ)'. Consequently, learners may occasionally substitute the subject pronoun 'you' where the possessive determiner 'your' is required.
For Japanese speakers
Grammar Japanese marks possession through the genitive particle 'no' (の), which is appended to the personal pronoun 'anata' (あなた) to form 'anata no' (あなたの). Japanese speakers may omit 'your' in contexts where the possessor is implied by the topic of the sentence, as Japanese frequently drops pronouns entirely when the context is clear.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/your