8/21/2019 Difference Between There And Their
Jan 26, 2011 Summary – There vs Their. The two words there and their are homonyms since they sound similar in pronunciation. But, they have differences in their usage and grammatical category. The difference between there and their is that there is an adverb while their is a possessive pronoun.
Main Difference – Their vs There
Their and there are homophones, and many English learners make the mistake of misspelling these two words. Yet, they cannot be interchanged in any circumstances as they are completely different. The main difference between their and there is thattheir is a possessive adjectivewhereasthere is an adverb. The functions of these two words are vastly different according to these grammatical categories.
Their – Meaning and Usage
Their is a possessive adjective. It corresponds to the third person plural pronoun, they. It is used in front of a noun to indicate possession or ownership. It indicates that the object, idea or even person indicated by the noun belongs to someone. The following sentences show the correct usage of the possessive determiner their.
Their house is situated on top of a hill.
Miriam and Nelly cut their vacation short and returned home.
I saw their car in front of the police station.
They all expressed their grief, but none volunteered to help.
If someone wants to object, all they have to do is raise their hands.
Her parents thought that their little girl was an angel.
There – Meaning and Usage
There is an adverb. It mostly refers to a place and often has meanings like ‘in that place’, ‘at that place’, ‘to that place’. For example,
We went to Luxemburg and stayed there for ten days.
She didn’t want to go in there because it was too cold.
He insisted on staying there, but there was no electricity or water.
Soon as we heard the news, we went there.
There can also be used at the beginning of a sentence to indicate the existence of something.
There are some issues with this plan.
There is only one restaurant in the town.
There are many unemployed men in this area.
There can also be used as an exclamation. In this sense, it is used to grab the attention of the listeners or to calm or comfort someone.
There, it’s all solved.
There, there, the pain will soon go away.
There, I told you everything will be alright.
Difference Between Their and ThereGrammatical Category
Theiris a possessive adjective.
Thereis an adverb.
Function
Theirindicates possession or ownership.
Therecan indicate a place, refer to the existence of something or serve as an exclamation.
Now that you know the difference between their and there, try to identify the grammatically correct sentences from the following sentences.
First, third, fourth and eighth sentences use the words their and there correctly, But their and there are interchanged in rest of the sentences; they are grammatically inaccurate.
They’re, their, and there are among the most commonly confused homophones. Here, some tricks and examples to help you use them correctly.
Their, there, and they're are all pronounced the same way. Their is the possessive pronoun, as in 'their car is red'; there is used as an adjective, 'he is always there for me,' a noun, 'get away from there,' and, chiefly, an adverb, 'stop right there'; they're is a contraction of 'they are,' as in 'they're getting married.'
Homophones — words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings — can be tricky. There are three in particular that commonly confuse people. They're very tricky, in part because of their usefulness, which means that we call on them over and over in our writing here and there.
There's no need to confuse there, they're, and their. While they're not an easy group of words, with practice you can master their distinctions.
'There' Usage
And we'll start there. That one has the word here in it, which is helpful. It can remind us that this particular there is often about location:
There it is.
Put it there. Stay there. We'll be there soon.
It's about location in the more abstract sense too:
There you go.
There is where we disagree. Friends who are always there for you.
It's also the one to use as the first word in sentences that have the subject after the verb:
There is a nice hotel in the town.
And it's the one used with the verb be at the beginning of sentences and questions:
There are plenty available.
Is there a hotel in the town?
The other two are trickier because they both have the idea of the plural in them. They key is discerning between the contraction for 'they are' (they're) and the possessive of 'belonging to them' (their).
'They're' Usage
They're is a contraction that means 'they are.' You can remember that apostrophes indicate the possessive only when used of 's, such as 'the writer's thoughts.' Otherwise, it's generally a contraction of two words, as in can't = cannot, or won't = will not, or an omission of a letter or letters, as in singin' for singing and 'em for them in stick it to 'em.
They're (=they are) funny people.
They're (=they are) the cutest puppies ever.
It can be used of non-living things too:
They're (=they are) both really good books.
They're (=they are) two of our biggest problems. 'Their' Usage
The last of this trio, their, is the possessive form of they, so it has to do with what belongs to, relates to, or is made or done by certain people, animals, or things:
It's their house.
We're their neighbors. The trees are losing their leaves.
Their also has a long history of being used as a singular pronoun. Associate Editor Emily Brewster explains its usage in this video.
And there you go. They're not an easy group of words, but with practice we know you can master their distinctions.
In summary:There is the most common. It has the word here in it, which is helpful because it's often about location. They're always means 'they are.' Their is the possessive form of they.
show hide
Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |