5 Minute Grammar Lesson ~ There, Their, or They’re

23 Comments

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A lot of people mistake THERE, THEIR, and THEY’RE, and I’m not sure why. Each word has a specific meaning and they are all quite different. I suspect, most errors are due to not proofreading well enough {something I am often guilty of myself…so I try not to judge too often.}

There, Their, or They're- A Grammar Lesson

Yesterday, though, I was looking for some apps to download to reinforce basic learning skills with my kids and I found an app called Spelling Bug. At first, I thought it might be one to download, but then I read closely. Do you see what I saw? I totally judge when mistakes happen in professional settings. Why should I believe that you can teach my kid to spell when you can’t get your description right??

There, Their, or They’re

spelling bug app

You can bet your bottom dollar I’m not paying $1.99 to buy a SPELLING app that can’t even pick the right version of THERE to use in THEIR description. 🙂

In case you don’t know:

THERE – According to the American Heritage Dictionary: THERE is most often used as an adverb or a pronoun.

  • I’ll take you THERE.
  • THERE are lots of spelling mistakes on the internet.

THEIR – is a possessive pronoun. It shows that something belongs to a group of people.

  • THEIR car broke down on the way to Iowa.
  • THEIR teacher taught them the difference between THERE, THEIR, and THEY’RE in the third grade.
  • Kids use THEIR hands to arrange the letters to learn how to spell using the Spelling Bug app.

THEY’RE – is a contraction. It’s two words: THEY ARE. That is all.

  • THEY’RE coming to visit us soon!
  • THEY’RE hoping the rain will finally stop.
  • I hope THERE will come a time when THEY’RE able to see my post and fix THEIR error. {And I’ll take a free download for pointing it out. 🙂 }.

And that’s your 5 Minute Grammar Lesson! If you’re looking for more, here are some of my more popular grammar posts:

Should have gone OR Should have went

Your welcome OR You’re welcome

Definitely OR Definatly

Supposed to OR Suppose to

Until next time, Grammarians! Enjoy your weekend. 🙂

About Michelle Marine

Michelle Marine is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a long-time green-living enthusiast, and rural Iowa mom of four. She empowers families to grow and eat seasonal, local foods; to reduce their ecological footprint; and to come together through impactful travel.

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23 Comments

  1. Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!! The use of these 3 words drives me up the wall when it is incorrect. Amazing find in the app that cannot get it straight either.
    When I see these words used incorrectly, I will be submitting your link to the author.

  2. I agree, it’s very glaring and discouraging when I spot spelling or grammar mistakes on websites. I will share your posts with my mother-in-law – she’ll love it as she is the self-proclaimed grammar police!

  3. I proof content all day for work. When I am off the clock, I always seem to find the one typo in a national print ad or somewhere online. Last night, we were ordering take-out and my eye went right to the typo! It’s almost like it is ingrained in me!

  4. Oh my I am the worse when it comes to grammer. At least Word will help out with some of it but I still have to think sometimes at what I am writing. Thanks for sharing these tips.

  5. That is one I do not mess up but there are plenty of others that are easy to!

    Looking forward to reading. I do a bit of homesteading in the city. 🙂

    #BYB100

  6. Oh my! this is awful. I feel so sorry for the creator. I hope they are embarrassed, they probably do not even know they made a mistake. yikes!

    Erica
    We Three Crabs

  7. There, Their, They’re are three words that I see used incorrectly all of the time. It really does drive me crazy because when I look at the words, I see three different meanings. How can you get it wrong? LOL! Thanks for letting me know that I’m not alone in this frustration. Nest week we figure out world peace? Yep………still laughing!

    1. Yes – world peace – if we can master their, there, and they’re – that’s surely next! Lol! We’ll have to start small, I guess. 🙂

  8. Isn’t it shocking how many people cannot use homophones correctly? I’m perhaps to quick to judge in personal contexts (lack of proofreading, maybe!) but there’s just no excuse in a professional context. I think the ones which annoy me the most are when people use of instead of have eg I could of gone shopping today and pacifically rather than specifically.

  9. FOR REALS?! I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry over that spelling bug “bug”. That’s, just, wow. I’m the grammar police too, drives me up the wall when people use words incorrectly. Love these weekly lessons you have 😀

    1. Hehe! Well, I just found a huge glaring spelling error in my own Boost your blog post… Underscores the importance of proof reading again and again and again. 🙂

  10. Love your post!! I see too many poorly written statuses, articles and the like….it’s as though people don’t remember anything they learned in school! Lol!
    Stopping by from the blog challenge! 😉