'Your,' 'Yours,' and Letter Writing

Your is an adjective that means "relating to or belonging to you." Yours is a pronoun that means "that which belongs to you." Yours is also used in letter writing as a closing. Your is less commonly used as a closing in letter writing. Below are some examples of how each is used.

Your adjective : relating to or belonging to you

• I like your new hat.
• Is that your car?

: made or done by you

• Thank you for your donation.
• He needs your permission to go to the party.

Yours pronoun : that which belongs to you

• Is that car yours?
• We have two coats in the Lost and Found. Yours must be the smaller one.
• He said he was a friend of yours.

Yours pronoun -- used at the end of an informal letter

Hi Kevin,

I wanted to say thanks for helping me yesterday.

Yours,

David

Your is only sometimes used in letter closings. Below are some examples of how it might be used:

• Your biggest fan,
• Your dearest husband,
• Your most devoted friend,

Below is a list of more formal letter closings:

• Respectfully yours,
• Sincerely yours,
• Cordially yours,
• Yours truly,
• Respectfully,
• Sincerely,
• Cordially,
• Regards,
• Best regards,
• Best wishes,
• With sincere thanks,
• With appreciation,

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