Writing Tip #103: There, Their and They’re

There are so many words in the English language that sound the same (homonyms). One of the most commonly misspelt combination is there, their and they’re. Here are the definitions:

there:

• used to indicate the fact or existence of something. ‘There once was a man…’ ‘There is a bank on the next street.’

• in, at, to a location or position. ‘We went to the cottage and stayed there overnight.’ ‘the ball is over there.’

There are other ways to use the word there, but these two are the most common.

their:

• belonging to a group or more than one person. ‘The Smiths live here. It’s their house.’ ‘My friends gave me their coats to hold.’

they’re:

• the apostrophe replaces the letter a. The word they’re is the contraction for they are. Rather than say ‘They are at the grocery store’, you can say ‘They’re at the grocery store.’

There once was a couple who lived in their cottage over there in the woods. They say they’re happy living there in their cottage.

#writingtip #grammartricks #propergrammar #howtoedit #theretheirtheyre