different between yours vs yourself

English

Alternative forms

• your's (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English youres, ?oures, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to your +? -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced yourn in standard speech.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /j??(?)z/
• Rhymes: -??(?)z
• (US) enPR: yôrz, IPA^(key): /j???z/, /j?z/, /j??z/
• Rhymes: -??(?)z
• Homophone: yaws (in some non-rhotic accents)

Pronoun

yours

1. That which belongs to you (singular); the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.

2. That which belongs to you (plural); the possessive second-person plural pronoun used without a following noun.

   • “Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better. […]”

3. Written at the end of a letter, before the signature.

Usage notes

• In British English the adverb almost invariably follows the word yours at the end of a letter; in most dialects of American English it usually precedes it. As a general rule, sincerely is only employed if the name of the recipient is already known to the writer; a letter begun with Dear Sir or Dear Madam finishes with faithfully. Yours on its own and yours ever are less formal than the other forms.

Synonyms

• yourn (obsolete outside Britain and US dialects, especially Appalachia)

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References

Middle English

Pronoun

yours

1. Alternative form of youres

English

Etymology

Equivalent to your +? -self.

Alternative forms

• yerself
• yo'self
• yoself
• Yourself (honorific)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, strong) IPA^(key): /j???s?lf/
• (Received Pronunciation, strong) IPA^(key): /j??s?lf/
• (General American, strong) IPA^(key): /j???s?lf/
• (General American, weak) IPA^(key): /j??s?lf/
• Hyphenation: your?self
• Rhymes: -?lf

Pronoun

yourself (referring to the person being spoken to, previously mentioned, the reflexive case of you)

1. (reflexive) Your own self (singular).

   Be careful with that fire or you'll burn yourself.

2. You (singular); used emphatically, especially to indicate exclusiveness of the referent's participation in the predicate, i.e., that no one else is involved.

   You yourself know that what you wrote was wrong.

   After a good night's sleep you'll feel like yourself again.

Translations

Derived terms

• hello yourself, and see how you like it

See also