Grammar Guide #8: They’re, There, Their

There, there now, nearly all of us are guilty of accidentally using the wrong word from time to time. Recently, I saw someone post a rant on a friend’s Facebook wall about how people needed to “get a clue and at least make sure there grammar was correct.” Oh boy. Pot, meet kettle. So, in the interest of helping this poster make his point, the following are the correct meanings of they’re, their and there, complete with some helpful examples.

They’re — Is a contraction of “they are.”

It is often, but not always, followed by the present participle (verb ending in “–ing”).

Examples:

They’re going to meet us at the restaurant.
The group says that they climbed Mount Everest, but I think they’re embellishing.
If they’re late for dinner again, I’m going to be really annoyed.

Their — Is the third person plural possessive adjective.

It is used to describe belonging (and what the aforementioned Facebook poster should have used, instead of “there”).

Examples:

Their house is really beautiful.
The speakers on that panel really knew their stuff.
I hear it’s a lot of fun to work in their group.

There — This multipurpose word has four different uses as shown below.

1) “There” as a noun: meaning “that place.”

Examples:

I will meet you there at noon.
What was she doing there anyway?

2) “There” as an adverb: meaning the opposite of “here.”

Examples:

Can you please put the bags right over there?
I don’t know if you want to sit there under the bird perch.

3) “There” as a pronoun.

Here, it is used to introduce a noun or clause in which the verb comes before its subject.

Examples:

There is a special on the building of the Golden Gate Bridge on PBS tonight.
There is no hope.

4) “There” as an adjective.

Here it is used to emphasize which person or thing.

Examples:

That flower there is called a ranunculus.
That one there looks like he was caught in a downpour.