They're, Their, There

Grammar fun begins now!  

They're over there with their cat...what?

The notorious “there, they’re, their.” 

When you find a rambunctious sentence where half the words sound exactly the same, like "They're running out there for their book," confusion is sure to follow. But rest assured, my grammar friends--I have tamed these troublesome terms, and so shall you! 

 

Why are they so tricky?

Understanding is the key to fixing. While struggling with the "theres," I found the following points were my top troublemakers:

Block #1: They’re homophones, which means they're pronounced exactly the same. Out loud, we can't hear the difference. Listeners must rely purely on context to tell them apart. 

Their cat jumped there to eat their waffle. (Oh boy.)

 

Block #2: They look very similar. When we're proofreading, we often miss common spelling errors because we know what it should say, and so we don't always spot the mistake. "Their/there/they're" share most of the same letters, making them easy to skim over. 

There once was a "their" that was written like "they're," so their teacher asked how "they are skip rope?" (A strange skill, if true...)

*Tip: Read your paper aloud. It will slow you down just enough, and you'll catch more errors. 

 

Block #3: Word processors. I love Microsoft Word, but it's wrong...

Thanks to Word's spell checker, we don't proofread as closely as we should, and guess what—these words are spelled right even when used wrong! 

Don't trust the squiggly lines! At times, they lie. (For instance, Word is convinced "Wartburg" is incorrect, but the computer is wrong. Us: 1, Word: 0.) 

The grammar checker is even less reliable, unfortunately. 

My tip for ultimate success--ALWAYS proofread. 

Let's talk grammar: What's the difference—speed racer-style?

Their = possessive (it belongs to someone)

There = place or a pronoun referencing a word or phrase

They're = "they are"

 

That's not so bad! Here are some examples.

•  Their journey to Mordor will not be a simple walk. (Possession)
• Legions of orcs are over there. (Place)
  
• There are lots of mountains, rivers, goblins, and Uruk-Hai between Rivendell and Mordor. (Pronoun)
  
• They're eager to destroy the One Ring, but this journey sounds tricky. (They are)
  

How do we decide on the correct “there” when we get stuck?

There is the most broadly defined one of the three, so it's easier to ask yourself if the sentence implies possession (their) or a contraction (they're). 

 

Their, the possessor of many things!

If the object of your sentence belongs to the subject, then you need to use Their: Their journey...tells us that the journey (the object) belongs to "them" (the subject, they). It's their "precious"...couldn't resist! 

 

Their hope of passing through Moria unnoticed was dashed by their companion, Pippin. 

 

They’re, the stuntman!

If your vague "they" subject is directly performing the action, then use They're. 

 

There taking the hobbits to Isengard. (Wrong)

This sentence literally says something like this: The shoe is taking the hobbits to Isengard. "There" refers to a place or thing, not a person.

 

They're taking the hobbits to Isengard. (Correct)  

A person—your subject, they—is performing the action. Usually, They're will come right before the verb (taking). 

 

Tip: When proofreading, read your contractions as 2 words to double check if you’ve used the correct one. If They are doesn’t fit, then you need to switch.

•  They’re going to Gondor.
  
  • They are going to Gondor. (Correct!)
• They’re is a great place to eat in Minas Tirith!
  
  • They are is a great place to eat in Minas Tirith! (Wrong)
  • There is a great place to eat in Minas Tirith! (Correct!) 

“They” as the super pronoun

Thinking inclusively, “they” has been on a steady rise as the go-to “generic singular pronoun.”¹ When we want to avoid using a gender specific pronoun, like “he” or “she,” and when the “he/she” or “s/he” construction isn't working, “they” is the acceptable neutral alternative.

 

Kelly started singing "They're taking the hobbits to Isengard" last night. They got it stuck in my head. 

 

 

Resources

¹ Mignon Fogarty, “Generic Singular Pronouns,” Quick and Dirty Tips, October 20, 2011, accessed March 11, 2015,http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/generic-singular-pronouns.

Happy Writing!