'Our' is the first-person plural possessive pronoun (belonging to us); 'hour' is the unit of time equal to 60 minutes.
Possessive pronoun. Belonging to or associated with a group including the speaker. Possessive form of we.
Our team achieved its best results in the company's history this quarter.
Please keep our meeting details confidential until the announcement is made.
Our approach to customer service sets us apart from the competition.
Noun. A unit of time equal to 60 minutes. A specified point in time. A period or occasion.
The flight takes approximately four hours from London to New York.
She works an eight-hour day and takes a half-hour lunch break.
The report must be submitted within the hour or the deadline will be missed.
Common mistake
"The meeting is in hour office" when meaning our office (correct: our). Or "Hour approach is different" when meaning our approach (correct: our). Native speakers rarely confuse these — they confuse learners who mix up the H-silent pronunciation.
Trick to remember it
'Our' = O-U-R, like 'your' and 'their' — the possessive family all end in R. 'Hour' starts with H (silent) like 'honor', 'heir', 'honest' — words that borrowed their spelling from French and kept a silent H.
Quick rule
Is it the possessive meaning belonging to us? 'Our'. Is it the 60-minute time unit? 'Hour'.
Did you know?
The silent H in 'hour' came from Old French 'hore/heure' (from Latin 'hora'). The H was already silent in French when English borrowed the word — and English kept the spelling but dropped the sound. The same pattern: 'honor', 'honest', 'heir', 'herb' (in American English). The 24-hour day was invented by Egyptians around 2000 BC — but their hours were not fixed length; they divided daylight into 12 equal parts, so summer hours were longer. Fixed equal hours only became standard with mechanical clocks in the 14th century.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
_____ strategy for the next quarter focuses on expanding into three new markets.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The next status call is in one _____ — please have your updates ready by then.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Is it the possessive meaning belonging to us? 'Our'. Is it the 60-minute time unit? 'Hour'.
"The meeting is in hour office" when meaning our office (correct: our). Or "Hour approach is different" when meaning our approach (correct: our). Native speakers rarely confuse these — they confuse learners who mix up the H-silent pronunciation.
'Our' = O-U-R, like 'your' and 'their' — the possessive family all end in R. 'Hour' starts with H (silent) like 'honor', 'heir', 'honest' — words that borrowed their spelling from French and kept a silent H.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy