Let’s not dwell on the fact that three very similar words exist for three very different meanings. Let’s also not ponder why the ancient spelling “thair” became “their”, when “thair” is so much more logical. And we’re better off ignoring completely why “there” isn’t pronounced “theer” or “therr-eh”.
“It’s over here! Oh, no it’s not: it’s over there!”
Easy way to remember this one: “there” is “here” with a “t” tacked on, and both represent the fact that something exists (such as a thing, a place or a concept):
- “The five-legged dog is over there.”
- “There are two types of milk in my fridge.”
Note: “to indicate that something exists” also includes abstract principles. For example,
- “There is a reason I hate summer, but I’m not going to share it with you.” (“Reason” is what exists here.)
And remember: if you want to say “there is”, you can use the contraction “there’s”.
- “There’s a right time and a wrong time for clay pigeon shooting, and this is the wrong time.” (“Time” is what exists in this case.)
Their favourite word is this one…
“Their” indicates possession – in the same way that “my”, “your”, “his”, “her”, “its” and “our” show possession.
- “It’s their party and they’ll cry if they want to.”
- “It’s a shame their dog is so annoying.”
You’ll know that “their” is the correct spelling if you can swap in “our” and the sentence still makes sense:
- “It’s our party…” <– This works, so “their” is the correct spelling.
- “It’s a shame our dog is so annoying” <– Ditto this one.
- “The five-legged dog is over our.” <– This makes zero sense, which means “their” wouldn’t be the correct spelling.
- “How do we get our?” <– This too makes no sense, so “their” isn’t the correct spelling here either.
What on earth do they think they’re up to?
Easiest one yet! “They’re” is a contraction of “they are”. If the sentence works as “they are”, you can use “they’re” instead.
- “They’re going to the football match tonight” <– works as “They are going to the football match tonight.”
- “It’s hard to believe they’re all living together in an igloo” <– works as “It’s hard to believe they are all living together in an igloo.”
- “It’s a shame they’re dog is so annoying” <– doesn’t work as “It’s a shame they are dog is so annoying”, which means it’s the wrong kind.
They’re having their lunch over there
There, their and they’re: easy when you know how!
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