# Ending a sentence with "you're" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388 "2014-08-12T18:55:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/21 "2014-08-12T23:07:11Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Isn’t the “are” at the end of the sentence superfluous? “I’m too tired to drive the rest of the way, so you’re.” ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/22 "2014-08-12T23:09:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Now start a sentence with “\*In \*July…” In July I ate fish every day. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/23 "2014-08-12T23:10:00Z")
One I’ve heard about is _gonna_ which is an unofficial contraction for _going to_. But only in certain usages. A person might say _“I’m gonna leave now.”_ But that same person wouldn’t say _“I’m gonna the store.”_ ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/24 "2014-08-12T23:15:37Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > It’s wrong because that’s not how English works. It’s no different than if the student had written “the ball red” or even “the red, big ball”. There’s nothing objectively wrong with such formulations except that they’re not how generations of speakers have chosen to organize the language. Yes there are English rules that require the adjective before the noun as there are Spanish rules that require it after. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/25 "2014-08-12T23:18:56Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > ObSimpsons: > > > [@](#): > > > > “Some folk’ll never eat a skunk, > > but then again some folk’ll, > > like Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel!” A rapper named Robert Van Winkle Upon changing his name said, “Don’t think I’ll Bathe for a week So I’ll absolutely reek If my name don’t annoy you, my stink’ll.” ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/26 "2014-08-12T23:44:00Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Yes there are English rules that require the adjective before the noun as there are Spanish rules that require it after. The point is that the language came first, the (observed) “rules” later - English speaking people don’t say adjective-noun because it’s a rule, adjective-noun is a rule because that’s the way English speakers speak. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/27 "2014-08-12T23:47:46Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > In July I ate fish every day. The emphasis there is on _July_, not on _In_. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/28 "2014-08-12T23:53:49Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > Different example… > > “Who’s faster?” > “You’re.” I watched a Hong Kong movie one time where the English subtitles had every occurrence of “it is” replaced by “it’s”. E.g. Is that your dog? It’s. Every time I read that, it made me think of Monty Python. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/29 "2014-08-12T23:56:51Z")
I’m bidin’ my time That’s the kind of guy I’m “Bidin’ My Time” ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/30 "2014-08-13T03:47:28Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > “I’m a faster runner than you’re.” > > That doesn’t sound right… but why not? Plenty of other contractions sound perfectly fine at the end of sentences. My vote is that “you are” was never a nice contraction anyway, it sounds like “your” and you know its worse to end the sentence with that contraction. ---
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/31 "2014-08-13T04:25:35Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > AFAIK, there’s no grammatical rule which prohibits ending a sentence with a contraction. It does sound very awkward, so most of the time, it’s best if you don’t. I feel like you’re making a joke that I should get, but I just can’t. : ) > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > …That’s why iambic pentameter sounds so natural that people barely notice it’s metered, but Poe’s “Once upon a midnight dreary,” makes you feel a little uneasy. ‘‘Once a upon a midnight dreary’’, makes you feel a bit uneasy. Ahh - that sounds better to me. : ) ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/32 "2014-08-13T16:19:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One I’ve heard about is _gonna_ which is an unofficial contraction for _going to_. But only in certain usages. A person might say _“I’m gonna leave now.”_ But that same person wouldn’t say _“I’m gonna the store.”_ Actually, they might. The first “gonna” is prounounced with the same vowel sound as in “should” and “could.” “I’m gonna go.” The second “gonna” is pronounced like “gaw-uh-nuh.” “I’m gonna the store.” But I would _ **never, ever write** _ it that way. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/33 "2014-08-13T16:24:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The emphasis there is on _July_, not on _In_. Okay… “_ **In** _ July is correct; not _ **at** _ July!” ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/34 "2014-08-13T17:01:52Z")
From _Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger_: > [@](#): > > The baby won’t stop crying. > His face is turning purple. > Will anything make him feel better? > I bet a burp’ll. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/35 "2014-08-13T17:04:33Z")
And there’s Richard Armour’s: > [@](#): > > Shake and shake the ketchup bottle, > None’ll come, and then a lot’ll. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/36 "2014-08-13T17:13:10Z")
Is it because “you’re” and “you’ll” contract away a verb, whereas “don’t” and “can’t” contract away a adverb? Well, maybe not – I can think of sentences that end in “should’ve”, which contracts away the verb. But! It leaves a syllable there, so you can still spot the verb. “You’re” and “you’ll” get rid of the syllable as well. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/37 "2014-08-13T17:20:19Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > ObSimpsons: This took much longer to appear than I would have expected. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/38 "2014-08-13T17:31:54Z")
Yes, there is a rule for this. See The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, the best accurate up-to-date reference book about the grammar of English. Look in chapter 18, section 6. There are various things referred to as the weak forms of words, and contractions are some of them. They can only be used in particular places in sentences. The rule that contractions can’t (in many situations) be used at the end of sentences is a rule that can be derived from the rule about using not weak forms at particular places in sentences. The sentences that result if you vioate the rule tend to be interpretable if you think very hard about them, but they sound like someone who doesn’t know English well trying and failing to say the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/39 "2014-08-13T17:37:32Z")
You should never end a sentence with “you’re”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/40 "2014-08-13T17:54:49Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > Actually, they might. The first “gonna” is prounounced with the same vowel sound as in “should” and “could.” “I’m gonna go.” > > The second “gonna” is pronounced like “gaw-uh-nuh.” “I’m gonna the store.” But I would _ **never, ever write** _ it that way. Maybe it’s a regional thing but I can’t see how I’d stretch the pronunciation into gaw-uh-nuh. If I was attempting to write down the exact way I’d pronounce it, it would be “I’m gəʊn to the store” (where gəʊn rhymes with stone). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388.md?page=3)