Their, There, and They’re: Learn the Difference

The words their, there, and they’re can cause writers confusion because they are homophones—that is, they are pronounced the same way but have different spellings. This post explains the meaning of each word so you can easily identify how and when to use them.

Their

Their can be an adjective and theirs can be a possessive pronoun, and you can think of both forms as generally being related to the possession of something. One of Merriam-Webster‘s definitions of their reads as follows: “of or relating to them or themselves especially as possessors, agents, or objects of an action (“Their, Adj. [1]”). For example, in the sentence “Joan and Ashley needed to replace the battery in their car,” their is referring back to Joan and Ashley, so the reader knows that the car that’s being discussed is the car that Joan and Ashley own. 

Merriam-Webster notes that their can also be used along with an antecedent for an indefinite third person singular pronoun (e.g., everyone, anyone, etc.) to mean “his or her” (“Their, Adj. [2]”). In the following sentence, “their” is used with the indefinite third person singular pronoun “everyone” to mean “his, her, or their photo”:

Everyone who arrived early for the book signing was able to have their photo taken with the author.

The form theirs can appear as a possessive pronoun, which functions similarly to the adjective form their to mean “that which belongs to them,” and it is “used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective their” (Theirs, Pro. [1]).

The book on the desk was theirs.

There

There can act as several parts of speech: as an adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun. In general, you can think of there as typically referring to a place or point in some way, but it can also be used interjectionally or for emphasis. Let’s examine the meanings of there when it is used as different parts of speech.

As an Adverb

When used as an adverb, there can have a few meanings, but most of Merriam-Webster’s definitions are related to referring to a place or matter: “in or at that place” (“There, Adv. [1]”), “to or into that place” (“There, Adv. [2]”), “at that point or stage” (“There, Adv. [3]”), and “in that matter, respect, or relation” (“There, Adv. [4]”). So you can see examples of those usages in these sentences:

Go over there.

She went there with her sister.

He stopped there in the poem.

“There is the crux of the issue,” Will said.

As an adverb, there can also be “used interjectionally to express satisfaction, approval, encouragement or sympathy, or defiance” (“There, Adv. [5]”), so there isn’t always related to a location when it is used as an adverb:

“There, I think it’s ready now,” Sylvia said, drawing one last flower on the page.

As an Adjective

There can also be an adjective, such as when it is “used for emphasis especially after a demonstrative pronoun or a noun modified by a demonstrative adjective” (“There, Adj. [1]”). For example, in the sentence below, “there” is being used to emphasize the noun “restaurant,” which is modified by the demonstrative adjective “that.”

“That restaurant there is delicious,” Isabel said.

There can also be an adjective that means “capable of being relied on for support or aid” (“There, Adj. [3]”) or “fully conscious, rational, or aware” (“There, Adj. [4]”).

Joseph was there for Simon when Simon’s dog passed away.

After staying up all night, Rob did not feel fully there during the early morning exam.

As a Pronoun

If there is used as a pronoun, it is “used as a function word to introduce a sentence or clause” (“There, Pro. [1]”), as in the case of the first sentence below, or it can be “used as an indefinite substitute for a name” (“There, Pro. [2]”), as in the second example:

There used to be a bus stop near the library.

“Hey there. Do you know what time it is?” Sophia asked.

As a Noun

When there is used as a noun, it means “that place or position” (“There, N. [1]”) or “that point” (“There, N. [2]”), as seen in these two examples:

When Alice walked by the store, she saw many people in there.

Sophia would complete her half of the paper that night and then let her cowriter continue it from there.

They’re

They’re is a contraction of they and are. If you want to test whether they’re is the right word, try substituting they are to see if the sentence makes sense. For example, the sentence “They’re ready for the exam” is equally correct as “They are ready for the exam.” However, the sentence “I visited Cary and Sam yesterday at they’re new house” doesn’t make grammatical sense when you insert they are: “I visited Cary and Sam at they are new house.” In that sentence, you are referring to Cary and Sam’s house, so you know that the adjective their is the correct word to use in that sentence.

Now that you have learned the difference between these three homophones, take our quiz to test your knowledge.

Works Cited

“Their, Adj. (1)” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/their.

“Their, Adj. (2)” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/their.

“Theirs, Pro. (1)” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/theirs.

“There, Adj. (1).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Adj. (3).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Adj. (4).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Adv. (1).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Adv. (2).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Adv. (3).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Adv. (4).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Adv. (5).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, N. (1).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, N. (2).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Pro. (1).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.

“There, Pro. (2).” Merriam Webster Unabridged, 2024, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/there.