Difference between: There, Their and They’re

The ‘there their and they’re’ trio has very easily managed to confuse writers everywhere. We tend to use the wrong word in the wrong place a lot of times and we do not blame you because this is confusing since these words are homophones. Just so that you know the difference between them and use them correctly next time, read forward.

There is used when you refer to a place. It is an adverb; it is the opposite of ‘here’. It can also be used as a pronoun which introduces a sentence or clause.

E.g.

• She is there now. (adverb)
• There is still hope. (pronoun)

Their is a pronoun which is used to show possession. (It is like my, your, our etc.)

E.g.

• Show the guests their rooms
• They left their bags here.

They’re on the other hand is a contraction of the words ‘they are’. It is only a noun or a verb and it is used instead of writing ‘they are’.

E.g.

• They’re coming home by 2PM (They are coming home by 2 PM)
• They’re going to pick me up at 9. (They are going to pick me up at 9)

If you have trouble remembering it try these tricks; their has the word ‘her’ in it which indicates possession. There has the word ‘here’ in it which means location and they’re has an apostrophe in the middle which indicates that it is made up of two words ‘they are’.