The Difference Between There, Their, and They're
Three English Homophones That Cause Problems for Writers
Nov 2, 2009
A homophone is one of two or more words that while being pronounced the same way by most native speakers have different meanings, and may also be spelt differently.
There, they’re, and their are a group of such words in English that cause particular difficulty for many writers, especially those who are not native speakers.
The Use of Their
Their is the possessive case of they. For those interested in a technical description, it is used as an attributive adjective before a noun.
Their indicates possession and is traditionally a plural:
- Their belongings
- Their clothes
- Their rights as citizens
- Their current interests
- Their dog is called Snow
The Singular Their
Their is also quite often used as a singular in such sentences as:
- Someone left their pen on the desk
- Who makes you their confidant?
This use of they or their as a singular pronoun is controversial and considered poor English by some. Those who disapprove of the use believe that the sentences above would be improved by the use of a singular pronoun. For example:
- Someone left his or her pen on the desk
- Who makes you his or her confidant?
The singular they or their is an attempt by writers to avoid, on the one hand, the clumsiness of writing his or her or, on the other, of being accused of sexism for the use of the generic male specfic pronoun his.
The Use of There
There can be used as different parts of speech but often refers to a place or means "that location".
- It would have been frightening to have been there
- Have you ever been there
- The books are over there on the floor
- He was there with me all the time
There Used With the Verb To Be
There is also often used with the verb to be as an idiom. This is best demonstrated with examples:
- There are five of them
- There have been five managers
- There are too many chiefs and not enough Indians
- There is a bear in our backyard
The Use of They're
In some ways They're is the easiest of the three because it is a contraction of the two words they are. So they're is a subject and verb combined. (A subject is who or what performs the action of the verb.)
- They're the best houses in the neighbourhood
- It is good they're so happy
- My father and mother are arriving today. They're coming from New York
It is easy for even experienced writers to occasionally slip up with these words and students who have difficulty with them can improve their skills by using the many online quizzes available.
