When you are indicating possession, yours is the correct choice—not your's. You do not need an apostrophe to indicate possession because yours itself is a possessive pronoun. In this sense, yours is similar to other possessive pronouns like its, whose, and ours.
one's is possesive, it's is a contraction of it is and ain't is a slang used in dialects. Their's is an incorrect spelling of theirs. One's is a possessive, a contraction of one is, and a contraction of one has. It's is a contraction of it is, a historical spelling of its, and a current nonstandard spelling of its.
it's. Its, without an apostrophe, is the possessive of the pronoun it. It's, with an apostrophe, is a contraction of it is or it has. If you're not sure which spelling to use, try replacing it with it is or it has. If neither of those phrases works in its place, then its is the word you're looking for.
In English, we have a phrase, "you and yours" which we use to say something nice, like "Many Blessings to you and yours", "Best Wishes to you and yours", Happy Holidays to you and yours". It means 'you and your family' or 'you and your loved ones'.
Yours is a possessive pronoun, being a possessive form of you. It can refer to a singular or plural noun, and it can be the subject, object, or complement of a verb or the object of a preposition: I'll give you a taste of my dessert if you'll let me taste yours.
Since there is already a pronoun her, and hers ends with an S, it might seem only natural to include an apostrophe. With possessive pronouns, though, the possession is already baked into the word itself—no apostrophe needed. Possessives like hers, theirs, and yours do not take an apostrophe, even though they end in S.
pronoun. Yours is defined as belonging to you. An example of yours is when you give someone the keys to the car and say, “It's yours.” Yours is a traditional way to end a letter. An example of yours is the closing, “Sincerely yours.”
Definition of yours. : that which belongs to you —used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective yourthis book is yours —often used especially with an adverbial modifier in the complimentary close of a letterYours trulySincerely yours.
Understanding how to use YOUR and YOU'RE:
Your is the second person possessive adjective, used to describe something as belonging to you. Your is always followed by a noun or gerund. You're is the contraction of "you are" and is often followed by the present participle (verb form ending in -ing).theirs Sentence Examples
- Now, take theirs and do the same.
- "Pay for theirs too," he said.
- My place was on the street behind theirs, one house over so the corners of our lots touched.
- The rest of the night was theirs to spend as they pleased.
- Its arrival pre-dated theirs, as it would have passed them back in the basin.
they're – a contraction of the words “they are”. The apostrophe is your signal that the word can be split into two words. their – possessive, the thing belonging to them. Take the “t” off, and you have “heir”.
It's not an error to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is a little less formal. In emails, text messages, and notes to friends, it's perfectly fine. But if you're writing a research paper or submitting a business proposal and you want to sound very formal, avoid ending sentences with prepositions.
Possessive Pronouns: Used in Sentences
Possessive pronouns include my, mine, our, ours, its, his, her, hers, their, theirs, your and yours. These are all words that demonstrate ownership.Mine's, as in the sentences, "Cats are so cute. Mine's name is Ginger." Essentially, it's a possessive of a possessive, which I find fascinating. Mine is a possessive pronoun.
This book is mine. -- This is a determiner. A determiner is used with a noun. This is a book.
1 : they sense 1 —used as object of a verb or prepositiontook them backgave it to them. 2 : those —used especially as antecedent to a relative pronounthe best of them that speak this speech— William Shakespeare —used as the subject of a verb chiefly in nonstandard speech and for humorous effectthem is fighting words.
Using Her's in a Sentence
When to use her's: Her's is an incorrect spelling of hers. It includes an unnecessary and incorrect apostrophe. Don't ever use her's because there is no situation in which it is grammatically correct.There is an easy way to tell. Hers is a possessive pronoun, and as such, it needs no apostrophe. Since other possessive pronouns like mine and his also don't need apostrophes, it should be easy to remember that hers follows the rules and also doesn't take an apostrophe.
We use 's with singular nouns. For example, "my son's toys" will be "the toys that belong to my son". We use only an apostrophe (') after plural nouns that end in -s: "my sons' toys" means that I have more than one son and these are their toys. We use 's for possession with the other plural nouns.
Her's is a common misspelling, or mispunctuated form, of hers. Hers is a possessive pronoun. It shows ownership of a noun, in the third person, by a woman. Possessive pronouns replace a noun in a sentence in a way that shows who owns or has that noun.
his and her's. Possessive pronouns don't take apostrophes. It's not “hi's” (but you knew that), and it's not “her's,” even in the popular phrase “his and hers.”
Pronouns: possessive (my, mine, your, yours, etc.)
| personal pronoun | possessive determiner | possessive pronoun |
|---|
| she | her | hers |
| it | its | its* |
| we | our | ours |
| they | their | theirs |
hers Sentence Examples
- She held hers up for him to see.
- His feelings for her were as genuine as hers for him.
- When his gaze met hers, it was bland.
- Yet he too was an excellent dancer - or maybe everyone's dancing skills were so much better than hers that it only appeared so to her.
- His warm lips found hers as he pulled her close.
Their's is an incorrect spelling of theirs. One's is a possessive, a contraction of one is, and a contraction of one has. It's is a contraction of it is, a historical spelling of its, and a current nonstandard spelling of its. Their's is a historical spelling of theirs and a current nonstandard spelling of theirs.
The idea that theirs needs an apostrophe comes out of the fact that on virtually every other word, 's indicates possession, so English speakers sometimes think theirs should be spelled their's. However, this is always incorrect – theirs is the only correct spelling.
With slight variations between British and American usage, these forms are still in use. If you don't know the name of the recipient… Yours faithfully is British usage. It is used when the recipient is not addressed by name, as in a letter with a “Dear Sir” salutation.
"Yours sincerely" is typically employed in English when the recipient is addressed by name (e.g. "Dear John") and is known to the sender to some degree, whereas "Yours faithfully" is used when the recipient is not addressed by name (i.e. the recipient is addressed by a phrase such as "Dear Sir/Madam") or when the
Business Letter Closing Examples
- Sincerely, Regards, Yours truly, and Yours sincerely - These are the simplest and most useful letter closings to use in a formal business setting.
- Best regards, Cordially, and Yours respectfully - These letter closings fill the need for something slightly more personal.
Use "Yours sincerely" when you know the person you are addressing, i.e. Mr. Smith. Use "Yours faithfully" when you are starting your letter with Dear Sir/Madam, or a similar construction.
respectfully/ respectively
If you kiss the mob boss's ring, do it respectfully, or full of respect and admiration. Sign your emails "respectfully yours" if you're full of respect for the person you're writing to, and save respectively for singling things out.Your sincerely, Sincerely yours, Respectfully, Use when you've started with Dear Sir/Madam or To Whom It May Concern.
Use "Yours sincerely" when you know the person you are addressing, i.e. Mr. Smith. Use "Yours faithfully" when you are starting your letter with Dear Sir/Madam, or a similar construction.
If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, begin with Dear Sir or Dear Sir or Madam or Dear Madam and end your letter with Yours faithfully, followed by your full name and designation.
If you do not, however, and have used the salutation, 'Dear Sir or Madam', then 'Yours faithfully' is the preferred ending salutation. Whether you should place a comma after the ending salutation will depend on whether you have placed a comma after the greeting.
