The words “are” and “our” can be confusing, especially if you speak English as an additional language. These terms are common in writing and sound similar when spoken, so it is easy to get them confused. But they also play very different grammatical roles in practice:
For more advice on how to use these terms, check out our tips below.
The verb “be” – which refers to the “being” of a thing or state – has several forms depending on various factors. You can see these variations below:
Verb Forms
First Person
Second Person
Third Person
Singular
Plural
Present Tense
Am
Are
Is
Past Tense
Was
Were
Present Participle
Being
Past Participle
Been
As you can see, then, we use the “are” form in the following situations:
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We can also use “are” to ask questions in these tenses:
Are you a proofreader?
Are they proofreaders?
In all cases, though, “are” is always a verb that indicates a state of being.
“Our” is a first-person plural possessive determiner. It works as an adjective, modifying a noun to show that something belongs to an “us.” For example:
Our proofreading services will impress you.
By using “our” to modify “proofreading services” here, we show we’re discussing the services we provide (not proofreading services in general).
A variation on this word is “ours,” which is an absolute possessive. This means it stands by itself rather than modifying a noun. For example:
The document is ours to proofread!
The “ours” here still indicates ownership by a “we” or “us,” though.
“Are” and “our” may sound similar, but they play different roles in language:
As long as you remember that “are” is a verb and “our” is a pronoun, it should be easy to avoid mixing them up. But if you’d like a helping hand with your spelling and grammar, or simply a final check on a document to make sure it is error free, why not try our expert proofreading services today?
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