After a recent comment on my earlier post, which consisted of my ranting about people who don't write properly, I have decided to help you poor unfortunate souls who cannot or will not correct your writing. This will probably be a short series of blog posts about various aspects of writing that I've noticed people having trouble with consistently.

Lesson the First:

The difference between words that sound the same, but have different meanings, such as your and you're & there, they're, and their.

"Your" is the possessive form of the noun "you." Possessive nouns are usually placed before another noun (generally a noun is a person, place, or object, though it can sometimes be an idea). Used in a sentence: "Is that your dog?" The person asking the question wants to know if the dog belongs to the person being referred to as "you." In this case, that person is probably geographically close to the dog, hence the reasoning behind the question, "Is that your dog?"

"You're" is a contraction of the words "you" and "are." This means that the noun "you" (most often the subject of the sentence in this case) is combined with the verb "are," a conjugation of the verb "(to) be."  Conjugation simply means that the meaning of the verb is the same, but the form of the verb changes. Other conjugations of "be" include "are, is, was, and were." Because "you're" is a contraction, it may help you to think of it as two separate words: "you" and "are." Used correctly in a sentence: "You're going to the party, right?" In this example, the person asking the question is wanting to know if "you" are going to the party. It is not possessive, so you cannot say "Your going to the party, right?" because that would imply that "going" belongs to "you." "Going" is a verb and therefore, cannot be possessed or owned.

"There" is a noun of place, usually referring to a specific geographical area. Used in a sentence: "The town hall is right there."  It can also be used referring to a more vague location. In a sentence: "I think your golf ball landed somewhere over there." In the first example, the town hall is the place that "there" refers to. It is assumed that the town hall would be fairly obvious, so in this case, the "there" is being pretty specific. However, in the second example, "there" is being used in a more general way, because the speaker does not know exactly where the ball is, but knows the general area where it landed.

"They're" like "you're," is a contration. It is a contraction of the words "they" and "are." Used in a sentence: "They're moving to Korea?!" (-_- uber jealousness) *For more information, please see the paragraph beginning with "you're."

"Their" is the possessive form of the noun "they." Used correctly in a sentence: "Did their cat really scratch out that old lady's eyes?" *for more info, please refer to the section headed: "your"

"Where"  Used in a sentence: "Where's the beef?"  *please refer to "there" for additional info

"We're" contraction of "we" and "are" Used in a sentence: "WE'RE GOING TO A SHINEE CONCERT!!!!!!!!!" O.o   *for more info please see "you're"

"Were" is in fact a linking verb, not a noun. Therefore, NONE of your sentences should start with "were." It is also a form of the verb "be." The past tense. 

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Lesson, the First, has reached its conclusion and the Grammar Wizard has retired for the evening. She hopes that this has helped you in your quest to write the perfect fanfiction story, and wishes to discover your burning questions about all things Grammar. If you leave an inquiry, the Wonderful Wizard of Words shall answer shortly. (The Wizard also appreciates comments and requests) Have a lovely, grammatically correct day!