They're - Their - There
They're getting their words mixed up in there.
The English language has it's confusing points and these three words, known as homophones, often get mixed up within it.
For the sake of our writing, let's simplify it, please.
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They're is a contraction meaning "they are" as in They're the words people often confuse. Think of it in the following sentence.
They're coming to the movies with us.
It could also be written as, "They are coming to the movies with us."
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Their means "belongs to them" as in the sentence, Their dog is well-behaved.
It might also be written using the names of the people such as, "The Anderson's dog is well-behaved."
Their is the possessive case of the pronoun they, meaning belonging to them. As in:
- They left their dog at home.
Their is generally plural, but it is also accepted in place of the singular his or her after words such as someone:
- Someone left their coat on the chair.
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There is an adverb that means in or at that place. It answers the question of where the action is taking place.
You might use it in a sentence such as the following.
- They went there yesterday.
Another way to write that same sentence would be to identify the location, such as in the following sentence.
- They went to the park yesterday.
There is also used as a pronoun introducing the subject of a sentence or clause:
- There is still hope for our future.
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Another way to decide which to use
If you still aren't sure which one to use, consider the spelling of each.
- Their has the word heir in it, which can act as a reminder that the term indicates possession.
- There has the word here in it. There is the right choice when talking about a place, whether figurative or literal.
- They’re has an apostrophe, which means it’s the product of two words: they are. If you can substitute they are into your sentence and keep the same meaning, then they’re is the correct homophone to use.
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Simplified
There means the opposite of here; “at that place.”
Their means “belongs to them.”
They're is a contraction of “they are.”
Does that help? Are there other words that you find confusing?
Add them to the comments below and I'll offer suggestions to help improve your writing!
Recent Comments
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"Then" being used instead of "than" is one you constantly see these days. (And actually, Grammarly doesn't like this sentence, but I am not going to change it!)
"Manor" and "manner" you see occasionally confused.
"Sore" and "soar" can actually be quite amusing.
But the new trend I have the most difficulty with has to be the disappearance of adverbs. They are often just being replaced with the adjective. Even children's books are being written this way now.
One that I have difficulty with myself is I keep trying to use "which" instead of "that". Fortunately, Grammarly comes to my rescue and this is not a homophone issue, just my poor grammar.
Best regards
Andy
Thanks, Andy! I will use your suggestions in future posts. And I agree with using Grammarly. It doesn't catch everything. And sometimes I disagree with its suggestion. But it sure does help!
You hit on something I wish time and time again I could figure out how to make it simple for people...and you did it! I especially like (and will use it to help others) your last two sections (‘another way’ & ‘simplified’). Thanks!
I totally agree. I learned it well in school but then had to relearn it all over again after my stroke. It seems to me though that LOTS of people never learned it at all. That's why I love your post. It makes it easy! Thanks again.
People get these words confused all the time and they stick out like a neon sign to me. Other ones that are like nails on a chalk board to me---see, seen, saw and you're, your.
English is NOT an easy language. Ironically I often find people who did not grow up with the language are better at it than some who did.
~Debbi
Yes, the little mistakes jump out at me, too, Debbi. And I have noticed that often it is the native speakers that have the most difficulty. I think perhaps it is that we learn it so young, then don't practice it as we should.
I also blame texting and social media. Many get a bit lazy with their spelling when texting and FB postings in an effort to keep it short. While that might have been somewhat of a viable excuse in early texting days, I don't see the relevance with the newer apps. Maybe that's just me.
I like your ideas of the other posts. Thanks!
Hi Diane. It is always worth a reminder. But this was sent to me recently which I thought was quite clever to see it visually.
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In my former military life, I was once responsible for proofreading action officer staff packages at the Pentagon for the U.S. Air Force/SCX (or the USAFCommunications, Resources Director). Every single action officer was hand-picked to be there and held at least a Master's degree.
Still, many would use there, their, and they're incorrectly (among a plethora of other simple spelling and grammatical mistakes such individuals should not be making). My boss was a stickler for "perfect paperwork" – and why shouldn't he be. That made my job very difficult to do. Action officers would expect me to correct their simple mistakes (which I did often). That is until I was correcting so many simple mistakes I didn't have time to do my REAL job.
What a job that must have been!