- Your/You're
- There/Their/They're
- Definitely
- To/Too
- Then/Than
- Possession vs. Plural
OK, look. The majority of the people that look at this page are at least 15 years old. That's 15 years you've had to learn something as basic as this. Your is possessive. You're is simply a contraction for "you are." They're completely different; it's almost impossible to confuse them if you sit there and look at it for half a second.
Your: Corey, Matt grabbed your breast.
You're: Michael Moore, you're a fat piece of shit.
It's easy. If you come to a situation in which a "your" must be used, just ask if the phrase "you are" would make sense. If it does, it's "you're." If not, it's "your." Ah, and if anyone ever says "Your stupid" to you, you have permission to laugh in his or her face.
The second of the set of grammar rules that we all master circa 5th grade...apparently it takes longer for some of us. This one is a little more difficult, but the IQ of 70 should still be able to master it with some practice.
There: Over there is a wild midget; we should catch him and train him.
Their: Their pop punk music sucks ass.
They're: They're freshmen: just pretend they're not there.
"There" refers to a location, "their" is possessive, and "they're" is a contraction for "they are." If you think for half a second you can look two to three times as intelligent. People might just take you seriously. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen, "Yeah, we're going they're tonight." It just makes you think. Does this person have the simplest grasp of his or her own language?
I've never seen an easier concept in my life. Almost all of you people can spell "definite." So to make the fucking adverb form, you just put the -ly ending on. Seriously, how can you go from "definite" to "definately," or "defiantly," or "defnitly." Word to the wise: if you still can't figure it out, just do the "def." thing. Everyone knows what you're talking about and nobody thinks you're stupid.
Never thought we'd see the day where people commonly spell a two letter word incorrectly. Let's skip the part where I make fun of people and go straight to the lesson.
To: We are all going to Hell.
Too: The freshman was too stupid to understand the explanation.
"To" shows where something is going, "too" shows the degree of a statement or shows accompaniment. This is too simple to spend words and time on.
Another basic concept that nobody can perfect. "Then" is time, "than" is everything not referring to time. Time. If you're talking about time, use then. Dammit.
Then: We are going to pour salt on the slugs then.
Than: Nate is cooler than you are.
This is one that even people that fancy themselves as Grammar Kings/Queens dick up. You have not received two medal's, you have received two medals. It is your mother's dildo, not your mothers dildo. And I hope your mother doesn't have a dildo. Anyway. Posession vs. Plural. It's a simple concept if you just think about it. Don't use the apostrophe (or just "that mark" for those less educated) if the phrase isn't posessing something.
Anyway. I'm sick of feeling the need to correct people all the time in an attempt to make them look like civilized people. So here's my huge correction. Read them and learn, and you shall know the difference between "your" and "you're."