There vs. Their vs. They're
Three of the most often confused words in the English language are there, their, and they're. These words are homophones, meaning they sound the same. However, their meanings and functions are so different that they are easily understood if you take a time to learn.
There is most often used as an adverb to show location. It can also be used as a pronoun in place of a specific location.
1. The ball landed over there.
2. I like the beach, so let's go there.
3. There is a spider on my seat!
4. I am from Greece, and Johanna is from there, too.
Their is a possessive pronoun. It is used to show possession by more than one person.
1. Their parents are named Jan and Sam.
2. The football team wore pink stickers on their helmets during breast cancer awareness month.
3. Lisa and Joe worked very hard on their science fair project.
They're is a contraction of the words "they are."
1. They're going to be late if they don't hurry and finish the game.
2. I believe they're going to beat us in the game this afternoon.
3. Peter and Paul said they're going swimming without me.
As you can see, these words are easily understood, as they mean very different things. However, they are some of the most often misused words in the English language because people don't take the time to think about which one they need in the context of the sentence. So, there you have it! Even though they're easy to understand, you must think about their differences before using them!
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