grammarGRAMMAR


There, Their, They're


Introduction

The words there, their, and they're are different and may be confusing. The confusion may occur because the three words are homophones, pronounced similarly.

What is the difference between 'there', 'their' and 'they're'?

The words there, their, and they're are distinct.

  1. Their is possessive.
  2. There may function as an adverb, an adjective, a noun, or an interjection.
  3. They're is a short form of the subject pronoun they and the verb to be (i.e., are.)
The word Example Explanation
Their I like their food. Their is used to indicate possession.
There I live there.
Ask the man there. .
I will take the package from there.
There! It's done.
There can be used as an adverb.
There can be used as an adjective.
There can be used as a noun..
There can be used as an interjection.
They're They're my friends. They're is a contraction of they and are.

What does 'their' mean?

Their indicates possession. It is a third-person plural possessive adjective that shows that a particular thing belongs to them.

Examples:

  • This is their house.
  • Have you met their son?
  • Can you give me their phone number?

What does 'there' mean?

There may function as an adverb, an adjective, a pronoun, a noun, or an interjection:

1. As an adverb, there refers to a place (as opposed to the word here).

Examples:

  • Please sit over there.
  • I met him there twice.

2. As an adjective, there modifies a noun. It is used for emphasis, especially after a noun modified by a demonstrative adjective.

Examples:

  • That person there ought to know the directions to town. (There modifies 'that pesrson'.)
  • Ask that man there. (There modifies 'that man' .)
  • The woman there helped me a lot. (There modifies 'the woman '.)
  • Those boys there are the ones who stole the cookies. (There modifies 'those boys '.)

3. As a pronoun, there is used to introduce a clause or sentence.

Examples:

  • There shall come a time.
  • There is nothing in this house.
  • There is no hope.
  • There are a lot of investments ideas.
  • There is no way we can help you.

4. As a noun, there means 'that place or position'.

Example:

  • I'll get everything ready, and you take it from there.
  • He stopped and went on from there.

5. As an interjection, there expresses feelings such as relief, satisfaction, sympathy, or anger.

Examples

  • There, now I can have some peace!
  • There! It's done.

What does 'they're' mean?

'They're' is a contraction of they and are.

Examples

  • I am so happy that they're coming tomorrow.
  • They're the best.

Conclusion

The words there, their, and they're are different words. Their indicates possession. There may function as an adverb, an adjective , a noun, or an interjection. Finally, they're is a short form of the pronoun they and the verb to be (i.e., are.)

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