There, Their, Theyre

There, Their, Theyre There, Their, Theyre There, Their, Theyre By Sharon When two words sound alike (known as homonyms), it s easy to think they mean the same thing. English being what it is, they usually dont and its important to get them right so you say exactly what you mean. For example, whats the difference between their, there and theyre? The three are often mixed up when writing, because they sound exactly the same. However, the meanings of these three words couldnt be more different. Their Lets start with their. Its the possessive form of they, which means it is used to show ownership or belonging. If something belongs to them, it is their item. Example: Michael and Lola left their car at home as it was a fine night. There If you are talking about a place or location, then you need the word there. This word indicates where something goes or where something is. Example: Michael dropped his coat on the floor. Lola said: Dont put it there, Michael. Hang it on a hook. Theyre Finally, theyre is a contraction of they are, with the apostrophe showing where the letter a has been left out. If you sound it out in full in the sentence and it sounds right, then youve got the right one. Otherwise, it must be one of the other two. Example: Where are my parents meeting us? asked Lola. Theyre meeting us at the restaurant, said Michael. Putting It All Together Once you have these three straight, then you can easily make sense of a sentence like this: Their car is being repaired, so theyre taking a cab to get there, said Michael. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund PhrasesSocial vs. SocietalEducational vs. Educative