There, their and they're - what's the difference?

There, their and they're - what's the difference?

The words there, their and they're sound the same but have very different meanings. Often, non-English speakers can get them confused. David Flowers, a teacher at RMIT Training, explains to us the difference between these words, and when it is appropriate to use them.

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There, their and they're - what's the difference?

The words there, their and they're sound the same but have very different meanings. Often, non-English speakers can get them confused. David Flowers, a teacher at RMIT English Worldwide, explains to us the difference between these words, and when it is appropriate to use them.

Hi. I'm going to tell you the difference between these three words. They all sound the same, but they have different meanings and different spellings.

Firstly, "there." "There" is used in three ways. It can specify a place: "My book is over there." So in this sentence, it's used as an adverb of place.

It can also be used as an introductory word or a dummy subject to start a sentence. For example, "There are a lot of people in China." The real subject, "people," comes after the verb in the sentence.

Lastly, it can be used as an exclamation. For example, "There, I've finished."

Now, to "their." "Their" is used as a possessive form of the pronoun "they." It shows that something belongs to "they." For example, "their house" or "their car."

Lastly, "they're." "They're" is short for "they are." For example, "They're good students."

To finish, here are some examples for you:

    "There are eight planets in the solar system."

    "The two boys raced their bikes."

    "They're both tired after riding so far."

16 September 2020

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