Homophones are a fascinating, vital, and perplexing aspect of the English language. To excel at English vocabulary and spelling, one must be conversant with homophones. Among many homophonic pairs, our and hour are homophones of each other.
Though these words differ slightly in spelling, they are very distinct in meaning, usage, and origin. To avoid miscommunication, one (both native and non-native user) must be aware of the usage of our and hour.
Our vs Hour
The main difference between our and hour is that the word our shows a similar possession of two or more people. On the other hand, the word hour indicates time and equals sixty minutes or thirty-six hundred seconds. Moreover, the word our is the first-person pronoun and a noun. However, the phrase hour is a noun.
The word our in the English language is known since the 18th century. It is a gender-neutral and plural pronoun. It is also a first-person possessive pronoun that shows similar possession of people. Although our is a well-known pronoun among English speakers, it also functions as a noun (name of city and river in two European countries).
Since the 13th century, the word hour has been derived from Anglo-Norman roots and has been part of the English language. It’s a unit of time, and a day is divided into 24 hours. Each hour consists of sixty minutes. This term has the function of a noun. Moreover, its abbreviation is hr, and the acronym AM is for morning hours and PM for the evening and night hours.
Comparison Table Between Our and Hour
| Parameters of Comparison | Our | Hour |
| Definition | The word our is a pronoun used to address the speaker and people around him. | A word hour is a measuring unit of time in terms of a day. |
| Parts of Speech | The word our is a pronoun and a noun. | The phrase hour is a part of nouns. |
| Origin | The word “our” has been known since the eighteenth century. | The word hour has been a part of the English language since the 13th century. |
| Spelling | The word our consists of three English letters, and no letter is silent. | The word hour consists of four letters, and its initial is silent when pronounced. |
| Example | It is our house. | I love walking in the evening hours. |
What is Our?
The English word our is a pronoun and a noun that has its roots in the German language. It is a well-known word for English speakers. It is used by a person to address possession of himself and others around him.
Since our indicates possession of more than one person, it is a plural pronoun. It is a common pronoun for people of the same community (town, team, school, interest, etcetera). This pronoun is always placed before a noun to make a meaningful sentence.
When we combine the word (our) with the suffix selves, we get ourselves, i.e., a reflexive pronoun. We use reflexive pronouns when the subject and object in a sentence are the same. Moreover, the word ourselves follows the pronoun we.
The example to make sentences using the word our and ourselves as a pronoun:
- It is our class.
- Pizza is our favorite meal.
- We will clean the house ourselves.
We can use the word our as a noun because it is a river’s name in countries, Belgium and Luxembourg. Moreover, it is also the name of the small village in Belgium.
The sentences we can make are:
- Let’s row in Our river.
- I went to Our village with my friends.
In both the sentences, our is not showing a possession. It is indicating the river and village.
What is Hour?
The word hour is also a well-known English word that was borrowed from Anglo-Norman in the thirteen century. It is a commonly used phrase by people and is a unit of time. People are often baffled with the pronunciation and include the sound of H also. However, the sound of the letter H is silent.
According to the universe, there are twenty-four hours in a day. These hours are bifurcated into two parts. The 12 hours show the morning period, and the remaining represent the night hours. Whether to use AM or PM while indicating hours is predicted by the sun’s direction.
Each hour, regardless of where we are in the world, consists of 60 minutes, and each minute consists of 60 seconds (SI unit of time). Because the word hour is a noun, it denotes past, present, and future times without changing the form. The hr is an acronym of the word hour.
People often confuse the word hour with the pronoun our because of similar sounds. We must learn the usage of the word hour in a sentence. The sentences we can make:
- You are one hour late.
- It is a twelve-hour-long journey.
Because the time has been specified in both phrases, this spelling of hour has been written.
Main Differences Between Our and Hour
- The word our is for indicating the user and people with him. On the other hand, the phrase hour represents time.
- The word “our” falls under two types of parts of speech (noun and pronoun). On the contrary, the word hour is a noun.
- The word “our” is associated with people. However, the term hour is associated with time (particularly a day).
- The word “our” is not a measuring unit. On the other hand, the term hour measures a day.
- In a sentence we use “our” as, It is our area, while, in a sentence, we use the word “hour” as The train is three hours late.
Conclusion
The terms our and hour are homophonic pairs in the English language which confuses many people. Both differ in many contexts (spellings, origin, usage). However, these are similar when pronounced. We must learn both the words in terms of spelling and placing these in a sentence.
The phrase “our” is a pronoun in writing and speech. It is also the name of the village and river. However, the term “hour” refers to a measurement of time in a day. Furthermore, the term “hour” dates back to the 13th century. On the other hand, “our” has been known to us since the 18th century, when gender-neutral pronouns came into existence.
References
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/40173205
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272707001910