Why do so many people have problems with "you're" and "your"?
461088
its there problem, not you're
1161087
There are several reasons. In some cases, it is simply due to quick typing and insufficient editing. It's easy to confuse the spelling of homophones such as "their" and "there" when writing rapidly.\n\nAlso, many of those who seem incapable of using correct grammar and spelling are actually young people trying to emulate ghetto culture by spelling "want" as "wont" and "with" as "wit," etc... These are the mistakes that I find particularly annoying for some reason, perhaps because I feel like young people should at least make an effort to come across as sincere and thoughtful when asking someone who is wiser or more learned for information or help.\n\nThe popularity of chatting has also resulted in an overuse of certain abbreviations which has unfortunately become the standard for online communication. This is where some of the laziness in grammar and spelling comes in, as well.\n\nIn addition, there are those posting for whom English is a second or third language. At certain times of the day, there are a number of people on here from India, for example. And while it's easy to be impatient with mistakes that even the least educated American wouldn't make, I try to remind myself that these people speak two or more languages fluently and that I should therefore not only tolerate minor errors but be ashamed of the even worse errors perpetrated by my own fellow Americans.\n\nFinally, however, there are a certain number of the population who just don't seem to have a basic grasp of grammar, spelling, or punctuation and who don't even seem to care. There are unfortunately so many of these people, that I'm afraid Yahoo would have more than a full-time job trying to keep up with their errors. \n\nIn my opinion, therefore, the best thing those of us who do think it's worth investing a little time and thought into how we express our thoughts online is to try to set a good example for the others, both in our questions and our responses. And though I try to resist the temptation to correct other people's errors, I sometimes find it very difficult to do so. This is especially the case when they've obviously not even made half an effort and don't appear to be foreign. When that's the case, and if they exhibit even the slightest bit of arrogance, closed-mindedness, or bigotry, I usually "let 'er rip"!
1044994
they're is a contraction for 'they are'\ntheir shows posession
914383
It drives me insane, particularly on here. There is a thing called spell check that people seem to have difficulty finding. When chatting it is a little more acceptable, not much but a little, because there isn't the convenience of spell check. What's worse is when you correct someone or mention they utilize the spell checker in any context the person asking the question becomes highly offended. For anyone offended by my response now I am going to show you how easy it was to make sure everything was spelled accurately because I had left a few mistakes intentionally. Now watch. Wow, took me 10 seconds to fix all of my mistakes.
1141279
One is, as I am sure you know, the contraction for you are while the other shows possesive case. There, I wrote that for all the yahooites who might read this and do not have a clue about proper English. While I am not perfect myself, some of the spellings are simply too strange at times so it is little wonder that some are confused by the two words. It is a sad sign of the times I am afraid.
540571
I agree with the "you're" and "your" response. I even asked a question about that one. Other common ones: there, their, and they're or it's and its. Another one I see quite often that I find humorous is the confusion of "lose(r)" and "loose(r)."\nIt's especially funny when someone says, "your a looser."\nOkay, maybe not to everyone, but it is to me. :o)\n\nOh, how could I forget too, two, and to?
233857
Hi there- being that I have OCD (obsessive/compulsive disorder), I can empathize with how you are bothered by the poor grammar and spelling of other users. Actually, it doesn't bother me at all- which is uncanny. Since I am obsessive-compulsive, it seems counter-intuitive that I would not be bothered by people's mistakes in writing. Of course, I make an occasional faux pas myself. I love the English language...poetry, books, etc. But I do understand that there are other people who may not have an affinity for the written word. I believe that in some instances, the individual may be in a rush, and as a result, they are negligent when it comes to constructing their sentences. Some people may be very young people, or may be people who have recently started using the English language, and don't yet have the same proficiency as some native speakers/writers. From that vantage point, I think that many people, even highly intelligent ones, may have some degree of difficulty assimilating. Ostensibly, English is a difficult language to learn for speakers of other languages. There may be mulitiple reasons for this- such as idiomatic expressions, sarcasm, internet/chat terminology, et cetera. \n\nAt all events, I do understand your concern. I have heard of people with OCD who are greatly perturbed by poor grammar, or using incorrect numbers, and so forth. It stands to reason that there are people who do not have OCD who will also have this sort of pet peeve. I used to correct people when they failed to speak properly- for example, if someone were to say "Where is the car at"? I would chastise them for using a preposition at the end of a sentence. I don't know what aspects about me have changed since that time, but I don't normally try to correct people anymore. Please be assured that there are still people out here that love proper writing, as I am one of them. :)
1183494
No, but it makes me cry that you can't spell High school correctly and that you wrote "you" instead of "your".  Hope you didn't graduate with that kind of grammar skills.
49603
It's just an idiosynchracy of the culture.  However, it probably also has something to do with the fact that the question 'How are YOU?" quickly forms a bond with the other person (although superficial) in that you are expressing concern for them, instead of the more self-centred "Hi, MY name is..."  (this might also be why the phrase "Hell, I don't believe WE'VE met..." is also preferred as it creates a fast bond)
542813
Because there are too many young people that think "why" is spelled "y".
79519
Instant Messengers are a threat to literacy and correct grammar because people hardly ever type correctly. And if they do, they still don't use proper capitalization or punctuation. They abbreviate short words like 'you' and 'are'. If this continues, the world will be uncivilized. Important documents like the Constitution may be illegible.
330390
I'm sorry I'm replying without answering the question, but please, PLEASE, PLEASEEE never never NEVER put an unnecessary apostrophe in the posessive form of "its." I can see maybe leaving out a necessary apostrophe if you're too lazy, but adding one just demonstrates ignorance, because technically it takes more time to do so. Please don't, for the more sensitive among us. Open a grammar book. It's a tragedy the subject's not taught these days.
70318
If the subject that "is/are" is referencing is plural, than no!  Don't give up your "pet peeve."  Now, if you're correcting people on the street or at work for using it incorrectly, then maybe that isn't the place.  People can speak how they like to speak, as long as they don't need to impress someone at the time, but I don't think there's any reason why you shouldn't be upset when you see a mistake like that in respectable print.  There's no reason to lower standards of formal grammar rules unless respected editors are widely acepting something new.  In other words, there's a balance.  We aren't in France, and there is no language acadamy here, but subject/verb agreement is a basic fact of English usage that is not going away any time soon.  Keep using respectable grammar if that's what you like to do.  There are people out there who appreciate it.  ;)
1173975
Because society allows them the ignorance. It's common and has almost become allowed to use incorrect grammar, or none at all! It's embarassing at time to those of us who have control of our language.
692689
Dude, let me know when you figure this out.  I'm also dying to know.  Is it really so hard to hit an extra two keys when typing words like "are" or "you?"
1166518
Some ppl just treasure the English language and find it so annoying that other ppl refuse to speak properly. It's like one of those things that just really gets to them and they can't help it.\n\nFor me, it can be a little confusing to try and understand what they r trying to say. But as long as they're understood i guess it doesn't really matter.
288772
Maybe they don't like how you spell.