They’re, Their, or There? A Teacher’s Guide to Choosing the Right Word

THEY’RE

‘They’re’ is a combination of two words, ‘they’ and ‘are’, and is what we call a contraction. Basically, it is ‘They are’ but in short form.
How do we use ‘They’re’ in a sentence?

• They’re coming now!
• They’re so good at dancing!
• They’re late!
• Please ensure that they’re prepared for the activity today.

If you replace ‘They’re’ with ‘They are’, all these sentences would still mean the same.

• They are coming now!
• They are so good at dancing!
• They are late!
• Please ensure that they are prepared for the activity today.

After writing, always reread your writing and mentally replace ‘They’re’ with ‘They are’ to check if you are using the correct version. If the meaning of the sentence remains the same, then you know that you have used the right one!

THEIR

‘Their’ is a possessive determiner used to show ownership. ‘Their’ is not a contraction and is usually followed by a noun, which includes gerunds. If you are wondering what gerunds are, they are verbs in the present participle form (verb + -ing) that act like nouns.

So how do we use ‘Their’ in a sentence?

Here are some examples:

• Their son is attending the workshop with ours.
• I love their suggestions for the team!
• She finds their loud chewing during the movie annoying!

THERE

‘There’ talks about location, and often answers the question, “where?”. It is also used to refer to something that exists or is available.

Here are some examples:

• Put it there.
• There are plenty of nice dresses available.
• Although it has been two months since the operation, the pain is still there.
• We’ll be there soon.

Moreover, ’there’ is used to introduce the subject of a sentence, usually before the verbs ‘be’, ‘seem’ and ‘appear’ :

• There seems to be a problem with the machine.
• I checked my purse but there was no money in it.

We also use it to answer a question that begins with “Is there” / ”Are there”, such as the ones below:

• • Is there a hotel in the town? Yes, there is one nearby.
  • Are there many cats in the shelter? Yes, there are many still waiting for a good home.

Interestingly, ‘there’ is found in many idiomatic phrases we usually use in informal contexts. I’m sure you have come across some of these:

• been there, done that
  – normally used to show when you do not find a place or an activity to be interesting because you have already experienced it: Not camping again! Been there, done that!
• here and there
  – used when things are found in various places: The clothes were scattered here and there in his room.
• there you go again
  – used to emphasise that an action is often repeated: There you go again, forgetting to turn off the lights!
• there and then
  – a phrase that means something happens immediately: I told him to think about it but he agreed to my idea there and then.

Now, let’s test your new skills and see if you can identify if ‘They’re’, ‘Their’ and ‘There’ are used correctly in these sentences!

#1: Their is a rabbit in that burrow over they’re. (X)

Both ‘their and ‘they’re’ are incorrectly used in this sentence.
The correct answer should be: There is a rabbit in that burrow over there.
In this instance, you should use ‘there’ to introduce the subject of the sentence, which is the rabbit, as well as to show where it is located.

#2: Have you marked there worksheets? (X)

The correct answer should be: Have you marked their worksheets?
We should use ‘their’ to indicate ownership, i.e. to show the worksheets belong to them.

#3: They’re using the washing machine to wash their clothes. (✔)

This answer is correct!
To check your answer for ‘they’re’, you can try replacing it with ‘they are’: They are using the washing machine…which is correct because the meaning of this part of the sentence remains the same. The use of ‘their clothes’ is also accurate because it indicates that the clothes belong to them.

And that’s all from me today! To sum up, this is what we learnt:

• ‘they’re’ is a contraction of ‘they’ and ‘are’. Try inserting ‘they are’ in the sentence to check if you have used the correct term
• ‘their’ is used when you want to show ownership. Check if there is a noun after ‘their’.
• ‘there’ is used for a variety of purposes, the most common one being to refer to location or the existence of something

I hope you now understand the key differences between ‘they’re’, ‘their’ and ‘there’ and that this helps you in your writing in future.

Look out for our next video in this series! Feel free to let us know in the comments what you think!