Yours or Your’s? The Correct Form Explained

It is easy to hesitate over your’s or yours, especially because apostrophes often appear in English words that show possession. But this particular rule is simpler than it first appears. Yours is the standard and correct possessive pronoun, while your’s is a misspelling in standard English. The confusion usually comes from applying the apostrophe rule used with nouns, such as Sarah’s book, to a possessive pronoun. Once you understand the difference between your and yours, the choice becomes straightforward.

Yours or Your’s: Which Is Correct?

The correct form is yours.

Yours is a possessive pronoun. It indicates that something belongs to the person or people being addressed.

Examples:

• Is this jacket yours?
• The final decision is yours.
• I think that seat is yours.
• My answer is different from yours.

The spelling your’s is not the standard possessive form. It is generally an error caused by adding an apostrophe where one is not needed.

Form	Correct?	Function	Example
your	Yes	Possessive determiner	Is this your bag?
yours	Yes	Possessive pronoun	Is this bag yours?
your’s	No	Nonstandard spelling	Is this bag your’s?

What Does “Your” Mean?

Your is a possessive determiner. It comes directly before a noun and tells us who the noun belongs to.

For example:

• your car
• your idea
• your sister
• your responsibility
• your favorite color

In a complete sentence:

• I like your new shoes.
• Where did you put your keys?
• That was your decision.
• What is your favorite color?

Notice that your normally needs a noun after it.

You would say:

This is your book.

But when you remove book, you need the possessive pronoun:

This book is yours.

That is the central distinction.

What Does “Yours” Mean?

Yours is a possessive pronoun. It indicates possession without directly modifying a noun.

Compare these sentences:

• This is your umbrella.
• This umbrella is yours.

In the first sentence, your modifies umbrella. In the second, yours stands in for the phrase your umbrella.

More examples:

• Is this pen yours?
• The responsibility is yours.
• That seat isn’t yours.
• Their house is larger than yours.
• I brought my notes; did you bring yours?

Because yours already has the appropriate possessive form, it does not need an apostrophe.

Why Is “Your’s” Incorrect?

The apostrophe in your’s is usually the result of a mistaken pattern.

English uses apostrophes to form many possessives with nouns:

• the teacher’s desk
• James’s bicycle
• the dog’s collar

Apostrophes are also used in contractions:

• it’s = it is
• you’re = you are
• they’re = they are

But yours is a possessive pronoun, and possessive pronouns generally do not use apostrophes.

Compare:

• your → yours
• our → ours
• their → theirs
• her → hers

Not:

• your’s
• our’s
• their’s
• her’s

This is why your’s should be avoided in standard writing.

Your vs. Yours: The Easy Difference

The quickest way to choose between your and yours is to look at what comes next.

Use “your” before a noun

Is that your car?

I like your idea.

Where is your phone?

Use “yours” when the noun is not repeated

Is that car yours?

The idea was yours.

Is this phone yours?

A useful test is to ask whether you can replace the word with your + noun.

For example:

This notebook is yours.

You could expand yours to your notebook. Therefore, yours is appropriate.

But:

This is your notebook.

Because notebook is actually present, use your, not yours.

“It’s Your Choice” or “The Choice Is Yours”?

One of the related expressions that causes confusion is “it’s your choice” versus “the choice is yours.”

Both are correct, but the grammatical construction is different.

“It’s your choice”

Here, your comes before the noun choice:

It’s your choice.

The phrase means that you are responsible for deciding.

“The choice is yours”

Here, yours stands independently:

The choice is yours.

This has essentially the same idea, but the sentence uses a possessive pronoun instead of a possessive determiner.

The same pattern works elsewhere:

• Your decision matters.
• The decision is yours.
• This is your responsibility.
• The responsibility is yours.
• That is your problem.
• The problem is yours.

The important point is that your and yours are both correct words. Your’s is the form to avoid.

Correct and Incorrect Examples

Seeing the forms side by side makes the rule easier to remember.

Correct

• Is this book yours?
• That seat is yours.
• The final decision is yours.
• My opinion differs from yours.
• I think this umbrella is yours.

Incorrect

• Is this book your’s?
• That seat is your’s.
• The final decision is your’s.
• My opinion differs from your’s.
• I think this umbrella is your’s.

The incorrect examples should be changed to yours in standard English.

What About “Yours Sincerely”?

You may also encounter yours in formal and semi-formal letter closings.

For example:

Yours sincerely,
Alex

And:

Yours faithfully,
Alex

Here, yours is still spelled without an apostrophe.

Writing “Your’s sincerely” is incorrect.

If you are using a traditional sign-off, remember:

Yours sincerely ✅
Yours faithfully ✅
Your’s sincerely ❌
Your’s faithfully ❌

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Adding an apostrophe because the word shows possession

Possession does not automatically require an apostrophe. Yours is already the possessive pronoun.

2. Confusing “your” and “yours”

Use your before a noun:

your answer

Use yours when the noun is omitted:

The answer is yours.

3. Confusing “yours” and “you’re”

These words are completely different.

• yours = belonging to you
• you’re = you are

For example:

This book is yours.

You’re responsible for the book.

4. Confusing “your” and “you’re”

This is another common error:

Your late. ❌

You’re late. ✅

The first word means possession, while the second is a contraction of you are.

An Easy Way to Remember the Rule

Think of yours as belonging to the same group as:

mine, his, hers, ours, theirs, yours

These possessive pronouns do not need apostrophes.

A simple rule is:

If “your” is followed by a noun, use “your.” If the noun is omitted, use “yours.”

For example:

Your jacket → The jacket is yours.

Your idea → The idea is yours.

Your choice → The choice is yours.

And never add an apostrophe to create your’s.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is “your’s” a word?

No. Your’s is not the standard possessive form of your. In standard English, use yours when you need the possessive pronoun.

Is it “yours or your’s”?

It is yours. The apostrophe in your’s is unnecessary and makes the spelling incorrect in standard English.

Is “yours” a possessive pronoun?

Yes. Yours is a possessive pronoun. It can stand in place of a noun phrase, as in “This laptop is yours,” where yours means “your laptop.”

Should I write “your choice” or “the choice is yours”?

Both are correct. Your choice uses your before the noun choice. The choice is yours uses yours independently. They express essentially the same idea in different grammatical structures.

Why doesn’t “yours” have an apostrophe?

Because yours is already an established possessive pronoun. English does not form this pronoun by adding an apostrophe to your. The correct form developed as yours, without an apostrophe.

Final Verdict: Yours or Your’s?

Yours is the correct form. Use your before a noun—your car, your idea, your choice—and use yours when the noun is understood—the car is yours, the idea is yours, the choice is yours. Your’s is a misspelling and should be avoided in standard English.

For more clear, practical explanations of confusing English words and grammar choices, Grammarify helps you know the difference and use the right words.

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