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There, Their or They're

Mistakes are often made not only by students learning English but also by native speakers when it comes to making the difference

between there, their and they're in written English. This happens because the three words sound the same.

Words that sound the same but have different meanings (as well as spelling sometimes) are called homophones.

Therefore there, their and they're are homophones.

Which of the three words would make the sentence below correct?

-There|their|they're playing there|their|they're video games over there|their|they're.

Answer: They're (they are) playing their (belonging to them) video games over there (not here).

Let's now try to find the difference between There, Their and They're.

There:

There is the opposite of here. It means "in that place" not here.

-Where is my hat? It's over there.

-I will look for you at the station when I get there.

There is|there are = to show that something exists.

-There is a plate on the table.

-There are many plates on the table.

Their:

Their is a possessive adjective which is used before a noun. It shows possession, that something belongs to them. 

-Their car is new.

-Their dogs barked all night.

-The children's mother put their lunches in their bags.

They're:

They're is a contraction of they are.

e.g. They're sad = They are sad.

They're is usually before an adjective or a verb ending in ING.

-They're very sad for his loss.

-I don't think they're right.

-They're making too much noise.

I hope this course helps.

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