there vs. their vs. they're

by AnnaLisa Michalski

originally published in the ezine-turned-blog Word-wise, May 17, 2009

Confusing these homonyms is a classic, common usage mistake. We've all--even the editors among us--done this at one time or another. It's an error that slips in when the fingers type faster than the brain can edit.

there: adv. in a location apart or at some distance from oneself
their: poss. adj/pro. the possessive form of the third person plural, i.e. "of or belonging to them"
they're: pro. + v. contracted form of "they are"

Of the three, they're is least often confused. The apostrophe draws the eye into a helpful double-take. Also, in some regions, the pronunciation of they're is not quite the same as the other two, helping further distinguish it. But if you're not sure, a quick test is to ask yourself whether the same thing can be expressed in two words. If so, they're is indeed correct.

I invited the Pattersons to dinner. They're meeting us at seven o'clock.

is equal to

I invited the Pattersons to dinner. They are meeting us at seven o'clock.

For the other two sound-alikes, be vigilant. These spelling-based mnemonics may help.

The word there contains the word here, its natural other half. If you didn't mean "the opposite of here," then the there that's spelled similarly may not be the right word.
The word their ends in r just like two other possessives, our and her. But NONE of the possessives ends in e as does there.

Test yourself with these examples. In each case, the mnemonics above can lead to a correct answer.

1) Houston? No, I've never been ___.
2) The Jacksons sold ___ San Francisco vacation house last month.
3) The managers are at a meeting; ___ scheduled to return by noon.
4) ___ confidence in the new drug led the researchers to make careless errors.
5) Susan's arrived at the airport. How long will it take you to drive ___?

Answers: 1) there; 2) their; 3) they're; 4) their; 5) there