Which is correct (you're) or (your) when writing?

It depends on what you mean. “You’re” is an abbreviation for “you are”. “Your” is the possessive.

You’re on your way to town with your hat on your head.

Thanks @gailcalled No one has ever explained it that simply before, You mean I might have actually learned something today?

You’re an idiot. (kidding).
Your hair looks good today. I mix them up all the time.

Another common confusion, (which I have never seen you make, @SQUEEKY2, because I would remember it!) Is “could of” vs “could’ve,” (or “should of / should’ve.”) There is no such animal as “could of,” or “should of.” When ever people use it they mean the contraction of “could have” or “should have.”
“I could have gone to the party.”
“I could’ve gone to the party.”
“I could of gone to the party” makes absolutely no sense.

You could also look at it this way to really see how wrong it is:
“I have gone to those parties.”
“I of gone to those parties.”

Also, it is very common to use “when ever” incorrectly. Should be “whenever.” SOME PEOPLE, @Dutchess_III! Get your act together before the mods kick you off the site!

This isn’t a very educational method, but whenever you don’t know which one to use, try replacing the “y” word with you are and see if it makes sense. If it does, it’s you’re. If not, it’s your. Or yore…

I also use, “Your,” as in “ours” but it’s not“ours,” it’s “yours.” Both are possessives, meaning they’re claiming something as theirs.

Shall we do “they’re,” “their,” and “there” next?

@Dutchess_III Know weigh hose A!

I know sprekenze french.

The apostrophe means there is a letter missing. In this case, it was the “a” in “you are” so you’re now corrected on your post. (Not that I was going to correct you since I knew what you meant.)

Yer kiddin me, aye?

Same with “it’s” (missing i) Should’ve (In this case, missing ha) could’ve, would’ve, she’s, he’s, they’re, and so on. Now if something belongs to something so that it’s in possession of that thing, then you use the apostrophe AFTER the “s” (since there’s no missing “i”) to show possession. “It’s missing its’ apostrophe, man!” Some of this type of apostrophe gets confusing (like your mind isn’t totally blown now). But, in the instance of “George’s hat” meaning the hat belongs to George, there are 2 letters missing. (George his hat.)

Wee tip, @SQUEEKY2: We fellow jellies are always happy to help with grammar questions, but Google is also a great aid (your-you’re). I’m a writer, and I use Google a lot when I’m stumped. which is frequently.

Weird Al has a song out that is relevant to this discussion.

@kritiper You lost me on the last example. “George his hat”? What does that mean? “George’s hat” is understandable in the possessive form. “The hat belongs to George.”

@Pied_Pfeffer That was the example used in my 1961 edition of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. From the late 17th century, it is. “George his hat” minus the letters “hi” and you get “George’s hat.” Shrug! Who knows what wacky words they wove back in those days?

Don’t forget about we’re and Weir

“George his hat..” that makes sense! I mean, the sentence itself is wrong, by today’s standards, but now I understand how the ‘s creates a possession. Cool beans.

‘sweird!

Ok, ok, ok, ok. What about things like, “Macy’s?” What is the apostrophe replacing?

the apostrophe in “Macy’s” denotes the possessive. For example:

“Joe’s walking.” means “Joe is walking.”...the apostrophe (’) denotes a contraction of “Joe is,

where

“Joe’s horse is walking.” means the horse owned by Joe is walking, and the apostrophe denotes possession.

A understand the difference. I’m going back to the explanation of “Joe’s hat” means “Joe his hat.”
So with that in mind, what is the ‘s in Macy’s replacing? Or McDonald’s?

My guess is: Macy his stores, McDonald his restaurants.

Yeah, that makes sense…didn’t think about the fact that we don’t put the qualifier (or whatever, I hate English) after it, because it’s assumed.

“Your” shows possession. You’re is a contraction of the words “you are”. Signed, A Jelly.

I agree with: Macy his stores.
Interestingly, @dxs gets perturbed if you write Aldi’s instead of Aldi, because German doesn’t seem to share the possessiveness. But you can shop at Trader Joe’s.

@ibstubro It’s just what they go by. Not all restaurants carry possession.

Is Aldi a person @ibstubro?

@dxs is right…we don’t say “Subway’s” if we’re just talking about the restaurant. We would say “Subway’s” if we were talking about one of Subway’s sandwiches.
“Do you want to go to Subway for dinner?”
“Yeah! Have you ever had one of Subway’s meatball sandwiches?!”
“No. Gross.”

@Dutchess_III: Aldi is a store.

People also say “Walmarts” and “Costcos” but that sounds silly. It’s “Costco” and “Walmart,” just like it’s “Aldi.”

Aldi is an abbreviation of “Albrecht Discount”, Albrecht being the last name of the owners. While we don’t usually to the ” ‘s ” when specifying a possesion, we do use an “s” without the apostrophe. However, the English influence is notable, and it is now correct to use an apostrophe with the s when showing possesion in a title, such as “John’s Pub”. Regardless, Aldi’s and Aldis are both wrong.

@jca, I know that Aldi is a store, but the question was (before @longgone answered) is it named after a person? If it’s named after a person, without other things thrown it, then you use the possessive. “McDonald’s,” “Wendy’s,” “JC Penny’s.”

Walmart and Costco are not named after people, so using the possessive is just ignant. (Well, Walmart follows the same reasoning as Aldi, in @longgone‘s explanation. To lengthen them both would be “Albrecht’s discount store,” and “Walton’s Mart.” Regardless, you don’t use the possessive in either one when referring to them, even though they hint at a name.)

Both ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ are correct but have different usage.
Your is a possessive adjective, it expresses possession, i.e something belong to someone, for e.g. Can you lend me your pen please?
While, you’re is the contracted form of ‘you are’ for e.g You’re (you are) a helpful person.