There, Their, They're
There
Possibly the most common of the wrongly positioned word-sets in the English language is the misuse of there, their and they're. We've all read, "John and Mavis were happy with there newly adopted mongoose". Wrong.
There points to a physical or abstract location; "I want you to move over there"; "I am looking forward to heaven - it will be great there". The word there can also be used with the verb to be in its various forms: "there is more than one way to skin a hamster"; "there will be trouble if you use the word so at the start of a sentence".
Their
Their is a possessive adjective and indicates ownership of a noun: "they celebrated their anniversary at McDonalds"; "they went there to declare their love for each other; they were sick to their stomachs for days".
They're
They're is simply a contraction of the two words they and are. In informal writing and speech it feels more comfortable than the original words might: "They're getting away captain" sounds like Scotty; "They are getting away" sounds like a Dalek. If you want people to read your writing and truly hear your voice then you'll use contractions. However, don't use contractions in formal writing where you're trying to create a professional feel. When I'm writing for others my first question is always "What "voice" do you want the piece written in?" To rewrite a sentence from above:
"However, do not use contractions in a sentence where you are trying to create a professional feel,"
It just shows how unnatural our own language can sound if we remove contractions.
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Not that mine is perfect, but I must have had VERY GOOD TEACHERS as I was painfully and deliberately acquiring English as my second language...I would never have had the guts to put anything up as training but I find it hilarious and can only commend you, Paul.I feel like I have found a soul mate griping about the same thing. I hope you have given a tutorial on my pet hate: the misuse of the words to lay and to lie. My patients always tell me they were laying down...their life, perhaps? And working in Ashton-under - Lyne near Manchester one of my patients proceeded to tell me: "I were just eating me tea, when..."
Coming from South Africa I never thought that i would need an interpreter for English, but there I did!
ReplyWhen ever I hear the word "sat" on telly I shout the word "sitting!" My wife just sighs.
I'll try to do "me" and "I" tomorrow, along with the correction to "me and him went out".
1) It's not 'Lay Lady Lay', it's 'Lie Lady Lie';
2) It's not 'Lay Down, Sally', it's 'Lie Down, Sally'; and
3) It's not 'I Feel Good!', but 'I Feel Well'.
I may not have used the proper punctuation above, but this discussion is about grammar, right? :-)
