Your’s or Yours: Which Spelling Is Correct?

Your’s or Yours: Learn why yours is correct, why your’s is wrong, and how possessive pronouns show ownership without apostrophes with confidence.

English learners and native speakers sometimes get confused about ownership when choosing between yours and your’s. The spelling difference seems small, but the simple rule matters. Yours is the correct spelling. Your’s is an incorrect usage and a spelling mistake. An apostrophe may look harmless, but placing it incorrectly creates a grammatically wrong expression. In English grammar, possessive pronouns already show that something belongs to someone. Words such as yours do not need apostrophes to express ownership.

To understand the rule, compare yours with other possessive nouns and pronouns, including mine, hers, and theirs. These word forms express ownership without an apostrophe. You can write, “This book is yours” or “That bag is hers.” Both sentences follow standard grammar rules and maintain a clear sentence structure. A common writing error occurs when people confuse possessive pronouns with possessive nouns. Names such as John’s use an apostrophe to show possession. Correct usage depends on recognizing the difference between these possessive forms.

This guide uses practical examples, comparison tables, and explanations of common mistakes to show why yours is correct and your’s is incorrect. Understanding possessive grammar helps you use your and yours naturally in everyday writing. Remember, your comes before a noun, while yours stands alone to show ownership. Apply this distinction in emails, assignments, and email-closing expressions such as “Yours sincerely.” Correct punctuation, spelling rules, and strong writing skills help you write with confidence and avoid unnecessary mistakes.

Table of Contents

Quick Answer: Your’s or Yours?

Yours is the correct spelling in standard English. Your’s is incorrect because possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe to show ownership.

Use yours when something belongs to the person you’re addressing. For example:

Correct: This notebook is yours.
Incorrect: This notebook is your’s.

Remember this simple distinction:

Your: A possessive adjective or determiner that comes before a noun.
Yours: A possessive pronoun that replaces a noun phrase.
Your’s: An incorrect spelling that you should avoid.

For example, you can say, “Is this your jacket?” or “Is this jacket yours?” Both sentences are correct, but they use different grammatical structures.

What Does Yours Mean?

Yours is a possessive pronoun that shows something belongs to the person you’re speaking or writing to. It identifies ownership without repeating the name of the object or person.

For example, imagine your friend has a blue backpack. You ask whether the backpack belongs to them. Instead of saying, “Is this your backpack?” you can simply ask, “Is this backpack yours?”

Both sentences communicate the same basic idea. However, the second sentence uses yours to replace the phrase your backpack.

According to Cambridge Dictionary’s grammar guide, possessive pronouns express possession and replace noun phrases. This makes them useful in everyday conversations and written communication.

How to Use Yours in a Sentence

You can use yours in several situations. The most common purpose is to identify ownership without repeating a noun.

1. To show ownership

Use yours when you want to confirm that something belongs to another person.

Is this water bottle yours?
The black jacket near the door is yours.
I think this package is yours.
That beautiful garden is yours to enjoy.

2. To compare ownership

You can also use yours when comparing something that belongs to one person with something belonging to another.

My laptop is older than yours.
Their house looks smaller than yours.
Your handwriting is neater than yours was last year.
My responsibilities are different from yours.

3. To identify responsibility or choice

Ownership doesn’t always involve physical objects. Sometimes yours refers to a responsibility, decision, opportunity, or personal choice.

The final decision is yours.
The responsibility for this project is yours.
The opportunity is yours if you want it.
Your future is yours to shape.

4. To avoid repeating nouns

Instead of repeating the same noun phrase, use yours to make your sentence shorter and smoother.

For example:

Repetitive: My phone is expensive, but your phone is more expensive.
Better: My phone is expensive, but yours is more expensive.

This small change improves sentence flow and keeps your writing natural.

What Does Your’s Mean?

Your’s is an incorrect spelling in standard English. You shouldn’t use it in formal writing, academic assignments, professional emails, or everyday communication.

The confusion usually comes from a familiar spelling rule. Writers often add an apostrophe and the letter s to show possession. For example, Sarah’s book means the book belongs to Sarah.

However, this rule applies to possessive nouns, not possessive pronouns.

The word your already shows possession when it comes before a noun. When you need the independent possessive form, you use yours, without an apostrophe.

Consider these examples:

Incorrect	Correct
This pen is your’s.	This pen is yours.
The responsibility is your’s.	The responsibility is yours.
Is that bag your’s?	Is that bag yours?
The choice should be your’s.	The choice should be yours.
This victory is your’s.	This victory is yours.

Why Do People Write Your’s Instead of Yours?

There are several reasons writers make this mistake. Most involve confusion about apostrophes and possessive forms.

Overgeneralizing apostrophe rules: People learn that apostrophes often show ownership and apply that rule to every possessive word.
Confusing nouns with pronouns: Words such as John’s and Sarah’s use apostrophes, but yours doesn’t.
Confusing your and yours: Both words express possession, which makes their different grammatical roles easy to overlook.
Typing habits: Some writers automatically add an apostrophe before the final s without checking the grammar.

The easiest solution is to remember that possessive pronouns already show ownership. They don’t need an extra apostrophe.

Why Is Yours Correct Without an Apostrophe?

The main reason is grammatical. English uses different forms to express possession, depending on whether you’re using a noun or a pronoun.

Apostrophes commonly appear with possessive nouns. For example, the teacher’s desk means the desk belongs to the teacher.

Possessive pronouns work differently. They have their own established forms, so you don’t add an apostrophe to make them possessive.

For example:

This is my notebook.
This notebook is mine.
That is your notebook.
That notebook is yours.

Notice how the possessive form changes according to its grammatical position. You don’t need to add an apostrophe to mine or yours.

Possessive Pronouns That Don’t Need Apostrophes

English has several possessive pronouns that express ownership without apostrophes.

Personal pronoun	Possessive form	Example
I	Mine	This seat is mine.
You	Yours	This seat is yours.
He	His	The blue car is his.
She	Hers	The red bag is hers.
It	Its	The bird spread its wings.
We	Ours	The house is ours.
They	Theirs	Those books are theirs.

Important: Some grammar references distinguish possessive determiners, such as my and your, from possessive pronouns, such as mine and yours. Both types express possession without apostrophes. The Australian Government Style Manual explains this distinction.

The Difference Between Possession and Contractions

Another reason people struggle with apostrophes is that English uses them for different purposes.

An apostrophe can indicate possession with nouns or show that letters have been omitted in contractions.

For example:

Daniel’s car: The car belongs to Daniel.
It’s raining: This means it is raining.
You’re welcome: This means you are welcome.
The book is yours: The book belongs to you.

However, yours isn’t a contraction. It doesn’t combine two words or replace missing letters.

That’s why writing your’s doesn’t make grammatical sense.

Your vs. Yours: What’s the Difference?

Although your and yours look similar, they perform different grammatical functions. Both express possession, but you can’t always use one in place of the other.

The easiest way to understand their difference is to look at the words that follow them.

Your comes before a noun and identifies something associated with the person you’re addressing. Yours replaces a noun phrase and can stand independently.

According to Cambridge Grammar’s explanation of possessive forms, your functions as a possessive determiner, while yours functions as a possessive pronoun.

Your vs. Yours Comparison Table

Feature	Your	Yours
Grammatical role	Possessive determiner	Possessive pronoun
Main purpose	Shows ownership before a noun	Shows ownership independently
Follows a noun?	Usually comes before a noun	Doesn’t directly modify a following noun
Apostrophe	No	No
Example	Your phone is new.	The phone is yours.
Common use	Your idea is interesting.	The idea is yours.

When Should You Use Your?

Use your when you want to describe a noun that belongs to the person you’re addressing.

It always appears before a noun or a noun phrase.

Examples:

Your presentation was excellent.
I like your new hairstyle.
Your children are very polite.
Please bring your identification card.
Your explanation helped me understand the problem.
Is your brother coming to the party?

In each sentence, your introduces a noun or noun phrase. It doesn’t replace the object.

When Should You Use Yours?

Use yours when you want to show ownership without repeating the noun.

Examples:

This presentation is yours.
I really like yours.
The children playing outside are yours, right?
The final opportunity is yours.
My answer is different from yours.
That identification card must be yours.

Notice that yours can appear at the end of a sentence or after a linking verb. It doesn’t need another noun immediately after it.

Easy Trick to Remember Your and Yours

Here’s a simple trick that can help you choose the right word.

If a noun comes immediately after the possessive word, you usually need your. If the word replaces a noun phrase, use yours.

Compare these sentences:

Your shoes are under the table.
Those shoes are yours.

The first sentence identifies the shoes using your. The second sentence confirms who owns them using yours.

Once you understand this difference, choosing between the two becomes much easier.

Your’s or Yours: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even though the spelling rule is straightforward, several related mistakes can make your writing confusing. Learning to recognize them will help you avoid unnecessary grammar errors.

Here are some common mistakes and their corrections.

Adding an Apostrophe to Yours

This is the exact mistake behind the your’s or yours spelling confusion.

Incorrect: The blue notebook is your’s.

Correct: The blue notebook is yours.

The word yours already expresses possession. Adding an apostrophe creates an incorrect spelling.

Confusing Your With You’re

These words sound alike, but their meanings and grammatical functions differ.

Your: Shows possession.
You’re: A contraction of you are.

Examples:

Correct: Your new shoes look fantastic.
Correct: You’re looking fantastic today.
Incorrect: You’re new shoes look fantastic.
Incorrect: Your looking fantastic today.

A quick test makes the difference easier to remember. Replace you’re with you are. If the sentence still makes sense, you’re using the correct form.

Using Yours Before a Noun

Because yours expresses ownership, some writers mistakenly place it directly before another noun.

Incorrect: Yours jacket is hanging outside.

Correct: Your jacket is hanging outside.

However, you can use yours when the noun doesn’t follow it directly.

Correct: The jacket hanging outside is yours.

Confusing Possessive Pronouns With Possessive Nouns

Possessive nouns and possessive pronouns follow different spelling patterns.

For example:

Michael’s car: The car belongs to Michael.
The car is his: The car belongs to him.
Sarah’s handbag: The handbag belongs to Sarah.
The handbag is hers: The handbag belongs to her.

The apostrophe in Michael’s and Sarah’s is correct because these are possessive nouns. However, his and hers don’t need apostrophes.

15 Example Sentences With Yours

Examples make grammar rules easier to understand because they show how words work in real situations. Here are 15 sentences demonstrating the correct use of yours.

This beautiful house belongs to you, so it’s yours.
Is the black backpack near the door yours?
My opinion is different from yours.
The final decision is completely yours.
I found a wallet outside, and I think it’s yours.
Your success is just as important as mine.
This opportunity is yours if you want to accept it.
My handwriting isn’t as neat as yours.
That notebook on the desk must be yours.
Our garden is smaller than yours.
The responsibility for completing this assignment is yours.
I believe the package delivered this morning is yours.
Her presentation was different from yours.
This victory is yours to celebrate.
The blue umbrella belongs to you, so it’s yours.

Grammar note: Sentence six uses mine to make the comparison clear. It compares your success with another person’s success.

Yours in Email and Letter Closings

The word yours also appears in common email and letter closings. These expressions help writers end messages politely and professionally.

Although they contain the word yours, they don’t require an apostrophe. The spelling remains the same whether you’re writing casually or formally.

Yours Sincerely

Yours sincerely is a traditional formal closing used in professional letters and correspondence.

For example:

Yours sincerely,

Michael Johnson

You can use this expression when addressing someone by name, particularly in traditional business correspondence.

Yours Faithfully

Yours faithfully is another traditional formal closing. British English traditionally uses it when the writer doesn’t know the recipient’s name.

For example:

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing to express my interest in the advertised position.

Yours faithfully,

Michael Johnson

American business correspondence often uses alternatives such as Sincerely or Best regards instead.

Yours Truly

Yours truly is a polite closing that can appear in formal or traditional correspondence.

For example:

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours truly,

Michael Johnson

In American English, Yours truly is also a familiar letter-closing expression.

Yours Respectfully

Yours respectfully communicates courtesy and respect toward the recipient.

You might use it when writing to an authority figure, a senior professional, or someone you want to address formally.

For example:

Thank you for reviewing my request and considering my application.

Yours respectfully,

Michael Johnson

Comparison of Common Yours Email Closings

Expression	Tone	Typical use
Yours sincerely	Formal	Traditional professional letters
Yours faithfully	Formal	Traditional letters when the recipient’s name is unknown
Yours truly	Formal or polite	Traditional business and personal letters
Yours respectfully	Respectful and formal	Correspondence with authority figures

Remember: These expressions use yours, never your’s. The apostrophe doesn’t belong in any of these traditional closings.

FAQs:

Is Your’s Ever Correct?

No. Your’s is not a correct spelling in standard English. The correct form is yours, without an apostrophe.

For example:

Incorrect: The choice is your’s.
Correct: The choice is yours.

Always use yours when expressing ownership independently.

Why Doesn’t Yours Have an Apostrophe?

Yours doesn’t need an apostrophe because it’s already a possessive pronoun. English possessive pronouns have established forms that express ownership without additional punctuation.

Other examples include mine, his, hers, ours, and theirs.

Is Yours Possessive or a Contraction?

Yours is a possessive pronoun, not a contraction. It shows that something belongs to the person you’re addressing.

A contraction combines words and uses an apostrophe to indicate missing letters. For example, you’re means you are, while yours indicates ownership.

What’s the Difference Between Your and Yours?

Your is a possessive determiner that comes before a noun. Yours is a possessive pronoun that replaces a noun phrase.

Examples:

Your book is interesting.
The interesting book is yours.

Both words express ownership, but their grammatical positions differ.

Is It Yours or Your’s in British English?

Yours is correct in both American and British English. Neither variety of standard English uses your’s as the correct possessive spelling.

You can write yours in school assignments, business emails, academic papers, and everyday conversations regardless of which variety you follow.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, yours is the correct spelling, while your’s is grammatically incorrect. The difference comes down to understanding possessive pronouns and their grammar rules. Unlike possessive nouns, words such as yours, mine, hers, and theirs never need an apostrophe to show ownership. Remember that your comes before a noun, while yours stands alone. Keep this simple rule in mind when writing emails, assignments, or everyday messages. It will help you avoid common spelling mistakes and write with confidence.