I tell people when there's spinach between their teeth.

I've decided to let the English teacher loose.  I'm going give anyone who cares to read it a little weekly grammar lesson on a common mistake.  While we all pretend we don't care about errors on FB, in texts or casual emails, you know you feel at least a teensy bit superior to someone when you discover a recurring mistake in their correspondence.  We all make goofs, this English teacher included, and I'm not here to judge.  I just suspect people are less likely to correct your ongoing mix up "your" and "you're" than they are to tell you when there's spinach in your teeth. 

So let's start with that one.

your = it shows possession

Example: Your belly is huge!

35.5 Weeks (two weeks before delivery)

you're = contraction of "you are"

example: You're going to have some cute babies!

Sophie and Michael - 3 weeks old

Photo by Alison Claire Photography 

To check your usage, just try replacing the word with "you are" to see which one fits.

You are belly is huge!

See, it doesn't work, so you have to use "your."

The opposite is the mistake I see most often, using "your" all the time.  If you can replace the word with "you are" then "your" is incorrect.  Watch out for that one!

More Spinach