it's all copacetic

Dear internet, please learn to spell.

People. Your spelling is atrocious. And it’s getting worse every day.

Far too many people confuse the difference between your/you’re, their/they’re, to/too, and its/it’s - or even worse, they don’t even realize there is a difference. There are even plenty of Facebook groups dedicated into setting people straight. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem they’ve worked yet. And what’s even more depressing is that most 2nd graders understand the right usage.

So in an effort to do my part in making the world a better place, I’m providing a little guide of what words to use and when.

Your/You’re
You’re is a contraction of “you are”. If you can’t interchange “you are” and “you’re” in a sentence, you’re using the wrong one.

Their/They’re/There
Same as above. “They’re” is a contraction of “they are”. If you can’t interchange “they are” and “they’re” in a sentence, you’re using the wrong one. “Their” is possessive, when referring to an object of someone (like their car). If it’s neither of those, use there (generally speaking). And if you want to use all three in a sentence, it’d look something like this: “They’re putting their things over there.”

To/Too
Only use “too” in these cases: when it can be replaced by “also”, like “I want some ice cream, too.” or when it means “in excess” like “Your iPod is playing too loudly.” An easy way to remember this is the extra “o” is only used when you’re adding more on to something.

Its/It’s
It’s is a contraction of “it is”. If you can’t interchange “it is” and it’s, then you’re doing it wrong.

We’re/Were
And although this one is probably more obvious, “we’re” IS NOT the same as were. “We’re” can only be used when interchangeable with “we are.” “Were” is a something completely different.

Fortunately I’m not alone in this pet peeve. This little bit below is taken from postings found across the web:

Let’s review:

“Your” signifies ownership or relation, which refers to something owned by someone, a title or friend/relation. Examples:

“Your car is cool.”
“Your status is lame.”
“Your shirt is ugly.”

“You’re” is an abbreviation of “you are”, which is what you’d say when speaking to someone about who or what they are, be it insult, praise, fact or random statement. Examples:

“You’re a moron.”
“You’re fantastic!”
“You’re ugly.”