Grammar with Gary #4
For this week’s blog I thought I’d take a look at one of the most common grammar mistakes out there: the mixing up of the three words ‘they’re’, ‘there’ and ‘their’. As all three sound exactly alike it’s easy to see how they can get mixed up when it comes to writing them, but as this is one mistake that can make sentences unintelligible it’s really important to know the difference.
1. They’re
‘They’re’ is quite straightforward as it’s simply a contraction of the words ‘they are’, with an apostrophe replacing the ‘a’. You should only use ‘they’re’ if you can replace it in your sentence with ‘they are’:
- They’re on holiday this week (They are on holiday)
- Don’t listen to them, they’re unqualified (they are unqualified)
- They’re in the swimming pool (They are in the pool)
(In formal or academic writing it’s best to avoid using any contractions, so always write out ‘they are’.)
2. There
‘There’ relates to places and locations in a similar way to ‘here’. It can also be used to point out that something exists when used with the verb ‘to be’:
- Gary is over there (place)
- This road will take you there (place)
- It looks like there are a lot of people (people exist)
- There used to be a shop on the corner (a shop used to exist)
3. Their
‘Their’ is used to show possession, in the same way you would use ‘my’, ‘his/her’, ‘our’, et cetera:
- It’s their football
- The hotel owner showed the guests to their rooms
- Their car broke down on the way home
A quick way to check if ‘their’ is correct is to substitute another possessive pronoun like ‘my’ or ‘our’ and see if the sentence still works. If it does, you’re good to go!
- My car broke down
- It’s his football
So there you have it! A shorter post this week but one that I hope will be useful. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.
The Polished Page 