There, Their, and They're

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Contents 1 There 2 Their 3 They're 4 Note

In English, there are many problems like the one presented here. Most native speakers pronounce these words the same; therefore, it is very difficult at times to judge which situation calls for which spelling. Each spelling means something different.

There

There refers to a place, whether concrete (i.e. "over there by the door") or more abstract (i.e. "it is difficult for her to work there").

Correct

There is a photography store down the street.

The salt and pepper shakers are over there on the table.

Their

Their indicates ownership. It is a possessive adjective and indicates that a particular item belongs to them..

Correct

Their time is limited.

My children have lost their minds.

They're

They're is a contraction: They are. It can only be used as a subject and verb, never as a modifier.

Correct

They're closing the store an hour later tonight.

I am very satisfied that they're going to leave early.

Note

• Spell out contractions. replace they're with they are.

• Do not always trust the auto-correct function of the word-processor.