Grammatically Correct 03/23/05
A weekly grammar tip created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors.
University of Houston-Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, TX 77901
When to use Their, There, They’re, and There’re
by John Davis
The words their, there, they’re, and there’re can be confusing since they all sound the same. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings are called homophones. Be careful when typing your documents in a word processing program such as MS Word or WordPerfect since these types of programs have spell checkers that merely determine whether or not the word is spelled correctly, not whether it is the correct word. As always, in order to be sure that the correct word is used, it is necessary to reread the document completely or have someone else read it to check for spelling and word errors.

Let’s go over the uses of the words in question.

Their: this word is a possessive pronoun that denotes that something belongs to more than one person or group.

Example: The Chinese are very proud of their heritage.

They’re: This is a combination of the words “they” and “are.” Typically this word is used to specify what a group is doing.

Example: They’re going to Disneyworld for the summer.

There: This word denotes a place. Tip: you may need to identify the place in the same sentence that the word “there” is used. The place will at least need to be identified in a previous sentence so that the reader will know which place the word “there” is referring to.

Example: After agreeing about the quality of the food at Red Lobster, the couple finally decided they would go there.

There’re: this is a contraction of “there are.” Quite frankly, you should probably avoid using it for formal or professional papers. Your readers will probably view it as an odd contraction and you may lose credibility as a result. It can be used in less formal assignments or artistic prose such as short stories, dialogue, or poetry.

Example: The woodsman gave the ominous yet comical warning “There’re bars in dem woods.”
Recommended Grammar Website of the Week
by John Davis

For more information about using these words, you can view the University of Michigan’s page at http://www.emich.edu/styleguide/theirthere.htm.

Another website uses an interesting song that may help you remember the rules for using their, they're, and there. It's available at http://suzyred.com/there.html.
Test Your Knowledge
by John Davis
Test your knowledge:

Determine which word should be used in the blank space in the sentence.

1) Many Enron employees lost ________ retirement savings when the company went bankrupt.
2) The volunteer firefighters held several fund raisers this year, and ________ planning on holding a few more.
3) Steven looked for his golf ball by the pond hoping it didn’t fall in ________.
4) Be sure that when you are addressing high-society gentry that you do not use language that would offend _______ sensibilities.


Answers

1) Many Enron employees lost their retirement savings when the company went bankrupt.
2) The volunteer firefighters held several fund raisers this year, and they’re planning on holding a few more.
3) Steven looked for his golf ball by the pond hoping it didn’t fall in there.
4) Be sure that when you are addressing high-society gentry that you do not use language that would offend their sensibilities.

 

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe/View Archive