• Privacy
  • Disclaimer
  • About
  • Contact

Teaching Adults

  • Home
  • English Grammar
    • Personal Pronouns
      • I and Me
    • Verbs
      • Linking Verbs
  • Practitioners
    • Digital Literacy

Their vs There vs They’re

January 2, 2020

This post may contain affiliate links for which commission is received. This does not affect the price you pay.
Blackboard showing their, there and they're, together with their meanings.
Their, There or They’re

What Is the Difference Between Their, There and They’re?

Their, There and They’re are frequently used in the wrong context. As homophones they all sound the same, but have different meanings. Their is a possessive pronoun indicating ownership or possession. There can be an adverb of place, or a pronoun used to start a sentence, and introduce the subject. They’re is a contraction of they are.

Their

Their is the possessive form of they, meaning that something belongs to them.

e.g. They all left their books in their lockers.

e.g. There wasn’t enough time to finish their essays in class.

There

There is the opposite of here. It is an adverb of place (over there). It describes where something is happening. There can also used as a pronoun to start a sentence and introduce the subject.

e.g. She left her bag over there. (Adverb)

e.g. Wait there while I fetch my keys. (Adverb)

e.g. There is no garlic bread left in the fridge. (Pronoun)

e.g. There’s a white van parked in the lane. (Pronoun)

They’re

They’re is a contraction of they are. If you are unsure of using contractions, always insert the uncontracted form, to check if the words make sense.

e.g. They’re going to miss their bus if they don’t hurry up.

e.g. They’re sorry they missed their bus.

How to Remember the Difference Between Their, There or They’re

If you are struggling to remember which one to use, there are clues to be found in the words themselves:

  • Their includes the word heir, which refers to someone who is entitled to ownership of property and possessions left to them.
  • There includes the word here. Think: There/Here for place.
  • They’re contains an apostrophe, which means it is a contraction. All you need to do is to replace they’re with they are to check if the sentence is correct.

e.g. The ball is over they’re. (Replace they’re with they are to check.)

e.g. The ball is over they are. (Wrong! This doesn’t make sense.)

e.g. The ball is over their. (Wrong! Their indicates possession and not place.)

e.g. The ball is over there. (Correct! There is an adverb of place – The ball is here or the ball is there.)

e.g. They’re running the half-marathon today. (Replace they’re with they are to check.)

e.g. They are running the half-marathon today. (Correct! This makes sense and they’re is the correct form to use.)

Sources

  1. Alexander, L. G. (2004). Right Word, Wrong Word: Words and Structures Confused and Misused by Learners of English. Essex: Longman.
  2. Dowling, D. (2011). Wrong word dictionary: 2,500 Most Commonly Confused Words. Oak Park, IL: Marion Street Press.
  3. Gooden, P. (2007). Who’s Whose?: A No-nonsense Guide to Easily Confused Words. London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd.

Filed Under: Confused Words Tagged With: their vs there, their vs there vs theyre, their vs theyre, there vs theyre

About C. L. Grant

The author is a qualified essential skills practitioner. She has significant experience of tutoring literacy skills to adults, especially those at entry level.

Recent Posts

  • Stationary vs Stationery
  • Their vs There vs They’re
  • Accept vs Except
  • It’s vs Its
  • What Are Contractions?
  • Who’s vs Whose
  • Affect vs Effect
  • Wether vs Weather vs Whether

Compensation Disclosure

Teaching Adults is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This means that compensation may be received for some or all of the products reviewed on this site. This does not affect the price you pay for any qualifying goods and services you may purchase.

Accuracy Disclosure

There is no guarantee that the Site Owner has directly tested any of the products included on this site. However, research has been conducted into the alleged results of other users who claim to have used the products. To this extent, the accuracy of both the publisher's research and alleged user results cannot be guaranteed.

Disclaimer

Please note that this site is not intended for use as a source of professional, psychological or medical advice but is provided solely for informational purposes. Readers are advised to seek the services of competent professionals in these fields, if so required. Further information can be found at: Site Disclaimer     
Copyright ©     Teaching Adults UK - All Rights Reserved
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OKPrivacy policy