# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/41 "2014-08-13T18:05:29Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Yes, there is a rule for this … And a lot of what **Ritter Sport** wrote in post #36 are the underlying reasons. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/42 "2014-08-13T22:04:29Z")
_" I can think of sentences that end in “should’ve”"_ Should’ve is a contraction that I have never seen before. I can’t think of any good reason for anyone to use it either. Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’ ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/43 "2014-08-13T22:08:52Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > You should never end a sentence with “you’re”. > > Regards, > Shodan Unless you’re talking 'bout [Midge You’re](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midge_Ure). And you forget how to spell his last name. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/44 "2014-08-13T22:11:11Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > _" I can think of sentences that end in “should’ve”"_ > > Should’ve is a contraction that I have never seen before. I can’t think of any good reason for anyone to use it either. > > Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’ “Shoulda, woulda, coulda.” But that’s rather informal, slurring the “'ve” contraction ending. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/45 "2014-08-13T22:19:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > You should never end a sentence with “you’re”. Unless it’s in quotes, you should never end a sentence in “you’re.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/46 "2014-08-13T22:28:02Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Now start a sentence with “\*In \*July…” _In_ July the artificial kidney was finally put; no longer would she be shackled to that monstrous machine. I had a dirtier version but I decided against it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/47 "2014-08-14T07:49:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The emphasis there is on _July_, not on _In_. > [@brujaja](#): > > Okay… “_ **In** _ July is correct; not _ **at** _ July!” We need to have all widget pre-assembly lines ready to go by July. \*\*\*In \*\*\*July, we will flood the whole damn world with widgets. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/48 "2014-08-14T09:56:26Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > We need to have all widget pre-assembly lines ready to go by July. \*\*\*In \*\*\*July, we will flood the whole damn world with widgets. Rookie mistake - Those assembly lines need to be ready to go by May at the latest:) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/49 "2014-08-14T12:48:11Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > _" I can think of sentences that end in “should’ve”"_ > > Should’ve is a contraction that I have never seen before. I can’t think of any good reason for anyone to use it either. > > Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’ Well, you should of. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/50 "2014-08-14T13:14:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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). Perhaps my pronunciation guide wasn’t quite accurate, unless you say it _really fast_. Think of it as “goin’-a the store.” Like in, oh, “goin’ a-hunting.” ---
**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 14, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/51 "2014-08-14T13:48:13Z")
I’m just glad I’m not as much of a gambler as Orson Welles. ---
**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 14, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/52 "2014-08-14T13:51:18Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > _" I can think of sentences that end in “should’ve”"_ > > Should’ve is a contraction that I have never seen before. I can’t think of any good reason for anyone to use it either. > > Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’ Yes, anyone who has does so should not have had or, in the interest of time saving, shouldn’t’ve’d. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/53 "2014-08-14T16:26:11Z")
> [@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. > > This [site](http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/why-does-it-sound-weird-to-end-a-sentence-with-a-contraction) explains that there are “weak” and “strong” versions of some words, but those distinctions exist only to our ears and not really by rules of grammar. It argues that, for whatever reason, English speakers don’t end sentences with “weak” forms. > > But is it technically grammatically incorrect? Contractions represent how words are spoken, in cases where we naturally elide sounds. No one naturally uses “you’re” at the end of a sentence. Technically grammatically incorrect? I don’t know for sure, but it simply isn’t done. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/54 "2014-08-14T16:27:49Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > Perhaps my pronunciation guide wasn’t quite accurate, unless you say it _really fast_. > > Think of it as “goin’-a the store.” Like in, oh, “goin’ a-hunting.” Not the same thing. We go to the store. We don’t go to hunting. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/55 "2014-08-14T17:02:27Z")
I don’t know enough about grammar to formalise it, but to my mind it’s something to do with the fact that most of these formulations with the contraction at the end of the sentence sound off because they contract an important word that ‘needs’ to be stated in full, whereas using “you’re” or “you’ll” in the middle of the sentence puts the stress on “you” - the modal verb is less important. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/56 "2014-08-14T23:29:29Z")
I’m gonna the library later, so I’m gonna look it up then. ---
**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 15, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388/57 "2014-08-15T00:15:30Z")
I think this rule about contractions at the end of sentences is as just much a strict matter of grammar as whether one should say, “I’m going home” rather than “me is going home.” Yes, someone could probably figure out that “me is going home” is the way that someone who isn’t a native speaker of English is trying and failing to say, “I’m going home.” Similarly, someone could probably figure out that “I’m a faster runner than you’re” is the way that someone who isn’t a native speaker of English is trying and failing to say, “I’m a faster runner than you are.” Grammar isn’t just about meaning and the choice of words and grammatical items. It’s also about the proper use of variant pronunciations of words and phrases. As I said before, this rule is mentioned in standard grammar reference books for English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-sentence-with-youre/695388.md?page=2)