Gateway to Grammar: They’re Their or There?

The English language is full of Homophones: Words which sound the same, but have a different spelling and meaning.

Is it “they’re”, “their” or “there”? They all sound exactly the same, so it can be hard to learn from context clues when people are speaking. Native English people struggle with this so don’t worry if you are a non-native and having trouble with it! Let’s break it down!

“They’re” is the easiest because it is a contraction (shortened form) of “They are”. The apostrophe (‘) tells us that it is two words stuck together.

Now all we have left is “There” and “Their”. The way I teach people the difference is “Their” has an “I” in it, and “I” am a person. It’s a cheap trick, but if it helps you remember, its good enough! So “Their” refers to people, and “There” refers to a place in the distance.

They’re = They are

Their = Belonging to people

There = A place in the distance.

Can you think of a good way to remember the difference? Let me know in the comments!