Wednesday, April 12, 2017

There, their....and they're

There, their, and they're are three different words, pronounced the same but spelled different.  They are homonyms.  So, where to use which?

Since I'm good with helping others with word associations I have been asked to please share.

There:  notice that the word here is in there.  So, it's not here, but there.

Their:  notice that the word heir is in their.  So, they (each being an heir)  inherited the house and it is now their house.

They're:  notice the apostrophe.  This means that a letter---or letters--has been omitted.  In this case the letter a.  In full it would be they are.

Other words with apostrophes are jack-o'-lantern, o'clock, O'Leary, ma'am, etc. which indicate that a letter--or letters--has been omitted.

Thus, there:  not here, but there.
         their: each an heir so their house.
         they're:  omitted letter, a in this case.  Also, if the other two don't fit, it must be this one.  :)

Then there is it's and its.

It's has an apostrophe, so an omitted letter, in this case i (it is) or ha (it has).  

It's raining = it is raining.  It's rained = it has rained.

Its is a rare possessive as it doesn't have an apostrophe like Jim's books, boys' bats, or deer's tail.

If a letter has been left out, (it's), then use this word. If showing possession, then use its.


6 comments:

Poorpiglings Place said...


There.. I knew that.. but the its is a bit more difficult to remember.. and I thought typos don't count amongst us.. or is it among us.. hmmmmmm

Now I only have to find out how to prove I am not a robot.. hmmmmmmm

glorm said...

Anyone can see that you are not a robot; you're a pig. :) Typos? Did I make a typo?

catspec said...

Good post glorm!!!! There are so many reasons they're keeping their boots on. HAHhaa.......

glorm said...

You mean their boots over there? It's true.

Deb said...

Interesting post. I always get confused over"its" & "it's". What about, 'Awhile" ? Or is it, "A while"?

glorm said...

Hi Deb, thank you for your comment. Yes, you are correct. Both "awhile" and "a while" are correct, but it's when to use which. I must admit that I cheated on this one and had to look it up.

"Awhile" is an adverb. I will read awhile before bedtime. "A while" is a noun, in this case the object of a preposition: I will read for a while before bedtime.

Deb, you may be the first person in history to bring up the confusion of "awhile" and "a while". LOL. The good thing about these two is that if used incorrectly, I doubt many will notice.

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