POSSESSIVES, PLURALS, AND
SPELLING – OH MY!
Common Grammatical Errors and How to Avoid Them
ENGLISH
 It is often said that English is among the most difficult languages to learn.
There are so many rules and exceptions to those rules that it is easy to
understand why people become frustrated.
 The rules we will address now do not fall into this category; there are no
exceptions!
 Spend some time learning and mastering these common errors and
you’ll be able to spend more time figuring out why the plural form of
“moose” isn’t “mooses”
COMMON ERRORS
 It’s vs. Its
 Their vs.There
 You’re vs.Your
 Lose vs. Loose
IT’S VS. ITS
It’s
Its
 Just like “doesn’t” means “does
not,” “it’s” means “it is/has”
 There’s an “s” so it must be
plural.
 It’s a contraction!
 Nope. It’s possessive!
 If you could say “It is” then use
 But there isn’t an apostrophe, it
“It’s”!
can’t be possessive!
 Sorry, it’s still possessive!
Test:
IT’S/ITS A DOG.
Answer:
IT’S – YOU COULD USE “IT IS”
INSTEAD
Test:
THE DOG IS ON IT’S/ITS BED.
Answer:
ITS – USING “IT IS” WOULD
SOUND GOOFY
THERE VS. THEIR
There
 Can be a place (put the pen
there)
 Can be a pronoun (there are no
more pens)
Their
 Plural possessive pronoun
 Are you referring to more than
one person and something they
possess? (that’s their pen)

In this example more than one
person owns the pen.
Test:
THEIR/THERE CAR IS PARKED
OVER THEIR/THERE.
Answer:
THEIR CAR IS PARKED OVER
THERE.
YOUR VS.YOU’RE
Your
 Possessive pronoun
 “Your essay”
You’re
 Like “it’s”, “you’re” is a
contraction of “you are”
 “You’re going to lose marks on
your essay if you confuse ‘your’
and ‘you’re’”
Test
YOUR/YOU’RE MISSING
YOUR/YOU’RE TRAIN.
Answer
YOU’RE MISSING YOUR TRAIN.
LOSE VS. LOOSE
Lose
 Lose is a verb meaning to suffer
the loss of, or to miss
 “You’ll lose your keys if you
leave them there.”
Loose
 Loose is an adjective, and is the
opposite of contained or tight.
 “There’s a dog running loose on
the street!”
Test:
MY LACES ARE TOO LOSE/LOOSE;
I MIGHT LOSE/LOOSE MY SHOE.
Answer:
MY LACES ARE TOO LOOSE; I
MIGHT LOSE MY SHOE.
REMEMBER: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!
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