How Should I Use There, Their, and They’re?

• There means the opposite of here; “at that place.”
• Their means “belongs to them.”
• They’re is a contraction of “they are” or “they were.”

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There, their, and they’re are the big trio of commonly confused words. All three of them are pronounced the same, and the spelling differences don’t seem to do a good job of stopping people from mixing them up.

What Does There Mean?

There can be used in a couple of ways. As an adverb, there is the exact opposite of the word here and means “at that place”:

He asked me to go there and check on his fish while he’s away.

There is also often used as a pronoun. In that case, it’s role is usually to introduce a word or a clause:

There is something strange going on with Sydney today.

What Does Their Mean?

Their is the third-person plural possessive pronoun:

All of those kids with their contagious laughter really made my day.

They didn’t want to see all of their hard work go to waste.

What Does They’re Mean?

They’re is what you get when you contract “they are” or “they were.” It’s the same kind of thing that happens when you contract “we are” into “we’re,” or “you are” into “you’re”:

They’re going to a party tomorrow.

You should meet my work friends; they’re a real hoot.

Examples

There is, however, one way to save this policy.

The Guardian

There are lots of ads that encourage you to buy things at stores or eat at restaurants, but how many actually encourage you to physically go there at that exact moment?

Forbes

Here are some of their own stories, their experiences at the camp and their reasons for joining the protest — in their own words.

NPR

This act of sportsmanship and brotherhood had a profound effect on a nation that already adored them for their talent and toughness.

The Daily Telegraph

This time, it’s about an alleged issue with subscribers—suddenly, they’re disappearing.

Kotaku