Their, There, and They’re

Which word is it?

Today’s writing tip comes as a result of a reader’s request.

English has many words that sound the same, and yet they are spelled differently. This can be very difficult to handle if you are not careful. Today we are talking about the words their, there, and they’re.  These words are often interchanged mistakenly.

So how do you remember the difference between these pesky words? The easiest thing to do might actually be to simply memorize the words. If that doesn’t work, you can always use a process of elimination. However, because these words sound alike, you must leverage the context in which they are used to help you make sense of them, and to apply the process of elemination.

They’re is a contraction. A contraction is a word that is made up of two other words that have been crammed together to make one word. As such, the word they’re is actually the words “they“ and “are” crammed together. This is denoted by an apostrophe (that little line mark between “they” and “re“. When you see that apostrophe you know that two words have been smashed together. So if you are writing and you are trying to say they are, then this is the word that you use – they’re.

 There is a location. Let me say it again, there is a location. Where? There.  Where and there look alike, and that is the easiest way to tell that they belong together. If you are trying to talk about some place, and you are telling someone where it is, then use the word there.

Their is a possessive. This word tells you what someone owns, or if something belongs to multiple people. For example:

“That is their car.” 

“Their house is at the end of the street.”

How about this one -

“They’re in their car down there.”

They’re = They are, their = they own the car, and there = tells you where the car is.

If you find this post helpful, please feel free to digg it or stumble it!

Happy writing!

Justin