What is the difference between there, their, and they are?

THERE shows location or existence, THEIR shows possession or ownership, and THEY RE is a contraction meaning they are. These three words sound identical but have completely different jobs. There shows location or existence (“Put it over there” or “There are five apples”). Their shows possession or ownership (“It’s their castle” or “Their advice was helpful”). They’re is a contraction meaning “they are” (“They’re leaving now” = “They are leaving now”). All three are pronounced the same (/ðɛər/), which is why they’re so easy to confuse. The key is to remember their different purposes: location (there), ownership (their), or contraction (they’re).

How do I remember which spelling to use?

Use the castle mnemonic: Look over tHERE! It s tHEIR castle. THEY RE royalty. This shows THERE contains HERE for location, THEIR contains HEIR for ownership, and THEY RE expands to THEY ARE. This shows all three in one scene. THERE contains HERE (location), THEIR contains HEIR (someone who owns/inherits), and THEY’RE expands to THEY ARE. When you picture the royal castle scene, you see: pointing to a location (tHERE), royal ownership (tHEIR castle belongs to heirs), and the royal family themselves (THEY’RE = they are royalty). One visual story locks in all three spellings and their meanings.

Why do people confuse there, their, and they are?

People confuse there, their, and they re because all three sound identical when spoken, so your ear cannot tell them apart and your brain must choose based on meaning, not sound. Adding to the difficulty: they have three completely different jobs (location, possession, contraction), and autocorrect won’t catch errors because all three are real words. Even confident writers hesitate because there’s no pronunciation cue to guide you. The only solution is a strong visual mnemonic that connects spelling to meaning - like the castle scene that shows HERE for location, HEIR for ownership, and THEY ARE for the contraction.

Can you give examples of there, their, and they are in sentences?

THERE shows location like the keys are over there, THEIR shows possession like it s their decision, and THEY RE means they are like they re coming to dinner tonight. Here are clear examples: THERE (location): “The keys are over there on the counter” or “There will be cake at the party.” THEIR (possession): “It’s their decision to make” or “The students submitted their homework.” THEY’RE (they are): “They’re coming to dinner tonight” or “I hope they’re feeling better.” Notice how you can always replace THEY’RE with THEY ARE (“They are coming to dinner”), but you can’t do that with THERE or THEIR. That’s the quickest test to distinguish the contraction from the other two.

How can I remember THERE for location?

The word HERE is literally hidden inside THERE as t HERE, and since HERE means a location, THERE also means a location, making the connection direct and memorable. When you write THERE and pause to check the spelling, look for the word HERE embedded in it. The visual pattern t-HERE makes it impossible to confuse with THEIR or THEY’RE. This works for all location uses: “over there,” “there are five,” “is anyone there?” - they all contain HERE, showing they’re about a place or existence.

When should I use THEIR versus THEY RE?

Use the they are test: if you can replace the word with they are and the sentence still makes sense, use THEY RE the contraction, otherwise use THEIR for ownership or THERE for location. If “they are” doesn’t work, it’s either THEIR or THERE. To pick between those two, ask: is this about ownership/possession? If yes, use THEIR (which contains HEIR, someone who owns/inherits). If it’s about location or existence, use THERE (which contains HERE). Example: “_____ going home” → “They are going home” makes sense, so it’s THEY’RE. “It’s _____ house” → “They are” doesn’t fit, and it’s about ownership, so it’s THEIR house.

There vs Their vs They're: Never Confuse Them Again

Master all three in 2 minutes with the castle mnemonic that 1,000+ writers use daily

there, their, they're

Common Misspellings:

mixing them up

A quick mnemonic to help you remember:

Spelling mnemonic for there their they're: Look over there! It's their castle. They're royalty - memory trick

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You're Not Alone

This is one of the most searched spelling questions on Google. With three identical-sounding words and three different meanings, even confident writers hesitate. The confusion is natural - but completely solvable with the right visual trick.

The Three Variants

Word	Meaning	Memory Trick	Example
THERE	Location/place	Has HERE in it	"Put it over there"
THEIR	Possession/ownership	Has HEIR in it (heirs own things)	"It's their castle"
THEY'RE	Contraction of "they are"	THEY + ARE = THEY'RE	"They're leaving now"

Why This Mistake Happens

Identical pronunciation: All three sound exactly the same (/ðɛər/). Your ear can't tell them apart, so your brain guesses based on context. When you're writing quickly, it's easy to grab the wrong one.

Three different jobs: One shows location (there), one shows ownership (their), one replaces two words (they're). Three meanings, one sound equals confusion guaranteed.

Autocorrect doesn't help: All three are real words, so spellcheck won't catch the error. You can write "Their going over they're to get there book" and spellcheck stays silent - even though all three uses are wrong.

Word Origin

THERE: From Old English "þǣr" (at that place), which has always meant location. The word traveled from Old English through Middle English to modern English, keeping its meaning intact across a thousand years.

THEIR: From Old Norse "þeirra" (of them), introduced by Viking settlers in medieval England. It replaced the Old English possessive forms and became the standard way to show ownership for "they."

THEY'RE: A modern contraction (17th century) combining "they" and "are." Contractions became popular in informal writing as English evolved, creating a shortcut for common two-word phrases.

All three converged to the same pronunciation (/ðɛər/) over centuries, but kept their different spellings and meanings - creating the modern confusion.

Etymology Path:

Old English/Old Norse þǣr / þeirra → Middle English there / their / thei are → Modern English there / their / they're

The Mnemonic

"Look over tHERE! It's tHEIR castle. THEY'RE royalty."

Why it works:

THERE = Location: "Look over tHERE" - the word HERE is literally inside THERE. Visual: Pointing to a castle in the distance. You're indicating a place.
THEIR = Possession: "It's tHEIR castle" - the word HEIR (someone who inherits/owns) is inside THEIR. Visual: Royal ownership, heirs own castles.
THEY'RE = Contraction: "THEY'RE royalty" - means "THEY ARE royalty." Visual: The royal family (they) are (are) wealthy and powerful.

How to use it:

When you're writing and pause at there/their/they're, picture the royal castle scene. Are you pointing to a location? (tHERE - contains HERE). Talking about ownership? (tHEIR - contains HEIR). Or replacing "they are"? (THEY'RE = THEY ARE). The castle scene gives you all three at once: a place to point to, royal ownership, and the royal family themselves.

Examples in Context

School: "Put your backpacks over there. They're taking their test today."

Home: "Is there any milk left? They're using it for their breakfast."

Work: "There will be a meeting at 3pm. They're bringing their reports."

Casual: "Let's go over there. I heard they're having a sale on their winter coats."

Story (Castle Scene): "Look over there! It's their castle. They're royalty."

Common Mistakes to Avoid

"Put it over their" → "Put it over there" (location = HERE is in THERE)

"There coming soon" → "They're coming soon" (THEY ARE coming = THEY'RE)

"I want they're advice" → "I want their advice" (possession = HEIR owns advice)

Quick tip: Replace the word with THEY ARE. If it makes sense, use THEY'RE. If not, it's THERE or THEIR. Then use the castle mnemonic to pick between location (HERE is in THERE) and possession (HEIR is in THEIR).

Quick Reference

THERE (location) - has HERE in it → "Put it there"

THEIR (possession) - has HEIR in it → "Their castle"

THEY'RE (they are) - contraction → "They're royalty"

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Mnemonic: Look over tHERE! It's tHEIR castle. THEY'RE royalty.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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