Common Mistakes in English - They're vs. There vs. Their

Learn the differences between they're - the verb form, their - the possessive adjective, and there - the place indicator in English. As these three forms are homophones - words that sound the same - it's easy to make this common English mistake.

They're vs. There vs. Their

They're is the contracted form of They are. This form is used in sentences using "they" as the subject of the sentence with the verb "to be" used as either the helping verb (e.g. They're going ..., They're playing ...) or the principal verb of the sentence.

Examples:

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There, Their, and They're: How to Choose the Right Word

By Richard Nordquist

They're working hard this week.
They're very interested in helping out.

There is used as an introductory subject is sentences with "There is" and "There are". It is also used as an adverb of place meaning "in that place".

Examples:

There are many people in that room.
That's my house over there.

Their is the possessive pronoun form. This form is used to express that "they" have a specific quality, or that something belongs to "them".

Examples:

Their house is in Los Angeles.
He liked their looks!

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