{"id":4448,"date":"2021-03-12T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=4448"},"modified":"2024-10-21T08:45:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T13:45:22","slug":"their-there-theyre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/pronouns\/their-there-theyre\/","title":{"rendered":"Their<\/em> vs. There<\/em> vs. They’re<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the hardest things to master in English is the difference among three very similar words: their, there,<\/em> and they’re.<\/em> Because these words have similar spellings and nearly identical pronunciations, they tend to be commonly misused.<\/p>\n

Learning to put each one in its correct place is a great way to write more clearly. Or, if you want to look at things from a different perspective, applying them in the wrong context\u2014for instance, using their<\/em> when you mean they’re\u2014<\/em>can make your thoughts and ideas seem less impressive.<\/p>\n

\"their<\/p>\n

To help you get it right every time, let’s look at the correct usages for their, there,<\/em> and they’re.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Meaning and Usage of Their<\/em><\/h2>\n

In precise daily formal writing, their <\/em>is a possessive pronoun that means “belonging to them.”<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe visiting team won the game easily. Their<\/u> defense was just too strong.<\/p>\n

I hope we go to the new Italian restaurant tonight. Their<\/u> spaghetti is amazing.<\/p>\n

The people we met on our vacation were wonderful. We loved their<\/u> outlook on life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In less-formal writing that often crosses into formal writing, their\u00a0<\/em>also can serve as a singular attributive adjective that refers to a person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the current context.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong>
\nA parent should lead their<\/span> child by example.<\/p>\n

Is anyone in their<\/span> right mind around here?<\/p>\n

If you would like to correspond with a teacher, ask for their<\/span> email address.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Meaning and Usage of There<\/em><\/h2>\n

There<\/em> can have two meanings.<\/p>\n

In the first meaning, there <\/em>can refer to a place that “is not here.”<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong>
\nWe can go there<\/u> to watch a movie after dinner.<\/p>\n

I was there<\/u> yesterday when Julie came to visit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There <\/em>can also be used as a pronoun that roughly equates to “it is the case that,” a context known as the grammatical expletive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong>
\nThere<\/u> is no question we can benefit from using good grammar.<\/p>\n

If there<\/u> is a will to succeed, there<\/u> is a way to make it happen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Meaning and Usage of They’re<\/em><\/h2>\n

They’re<\/em> is the easiest of the three uses to master because it is simply a combination of the two words “they are.”<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong>
\nTim called to say his parents were coming to dinner. They’re<\/u> at the restaurant now.<\/p>\n

Tell the kids they’re<\/u> going to be in trouble if they don’t finish their homework.<\/p>\n

Cats are fun but they’re<\/u> not as affectionate as dogs most of the time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Fill in the following blanks with the correct usages of their, there,<\/em> and they’re.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. _____ are only so many ways to cook with cabbage before it gets tiresome.<\/p>\n

2. I like Tom and Linda, but _____ house is too far away for a weeknight dinner.<\/p>\n

3. Have you seen the electric bill? I thought I put it in the drawer over _____.<\/p>\n

4. It must be hard for firefighters to sleep since _____ always getting called at night.<\/p>\n

5. I asked the neighbors to turn off the alarm, but it wasn’t _____ car.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. There <\/strong>are only so many ways to cook with cabbage before it gets tiresome.<\/p>\n

2. I like Tom and Linda, but their<\/strong> house is too far away for a weeknight dinner.<\/p>\n

3. Have you seen the electric bill? I thought I put it in the drawer over there<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

4. It must be hard for firefighters to sleep since they’re <\/strong>always getting called at night.<\/p>\n

5. I asked the neighbors to turn off the alarm, but it wasn’t their<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are you ready for the quiz?<\/h6>\n

Their vs. There vs. They\u2019re Quiz<\/a><\/p>\n

Their vs. There vs. They\u2019re Quiz 2<\/a><\/p>\n

Want Easy and Accurate Grammar Tips?<\/h3>\n

Visit our blog again soon for more quick, easy, and accurate grammar tips you can use right away. If you have a topic you would like to see us address in a future post, feel free give us a recommendation in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the hardest things to master in English is the difference among three very similar words: their, there, and they’re. Because these words have similar spellings and nearly identical pronunciations, they tend to be commonly misused. Learning to put each one in its correct place is a great way to write more clearly. Or, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-possessives","category-pronouns"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4448"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4448"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7090,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4448\/revisions\/7090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}