“Your” is a possessive pronoun. “You’re” is contraction of
“You are”, a pronoun and verb. So a sentence might correctly read: “It’s your
house now that you’re living in it.”
The problem is that the texting habit and computer-based
communication has encouraged the development of a vernacular shorthand, some of
which is acceptable because its identity as shorthand is obvious – as in “u”
for “you” – and some of which isn’t because it’s leading to the mistaken belief
that the shorthand version is correct. “Your” for “You’re” is a perfect
example.
OK, so I do know that the English language is not writ in
stone. It’s constantly evolving and “correctness” is ultimately established by
commonality of use, not the didactic railings of a grammar text book. In the
case of your and you’re, however, I think the conservative view has to hold
sway, and that the ire I feel when I read “your welcome” is wholly justified. That
isn’t because I’m offended by a lack of correctness, but because allowing “your”
for “you’re” to become acceptable would be both illogical and replete with the
potential for unnecessary confusion. There are times when getting it right is simply
right.
(Sorry if this is boring. I seem to be in that kind of mood.
And it’s Sunday morning in Sydney, NSW, which happens to matter to me.)
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