Homophones: They’re, There, and Their
Homophones are such trouble makers. They confuse kids, slip past spell check, and pop up all over the place as typos and misspellings.
Homophones sound exactly alike when pronounced out loud but have completely different meanings. And as an added pain just for writers, many homophones have different spellings, which means spell check ignores them, since alternate spellings are correct, despite the fact that they may be used in the wrong context.
These little devils of the English language give readers headaches and copyeditors nightmares, so it’s up to us as writers to learn how to use homophones correctly. If we can do that, we can spread proper homophone spelling and usage to the far corners of the planet.
They’re, There, and Their
I’m willing to bet that they’re, there, and their are among the most commonly misspelled and misused words in the English language. You see it all the time – in newspapers and magazines, on blog posts and comments, even on signs and advertisements – there is used where their should be, and vice verse. Throw they’re into the mix and you’ve got a big linguistic spelling mess.
It can be pretty disheartening.
But there are some extremely easy ways to remember which homophone is correct when you’re using they’re, there, and there. And for those of you who already know how these three homophones should be used properly, let this be a reminder that we cannot rely on spell check.
They’re
This is the easiest of the three because it’s a contraction, which means that the word itself is actually two words shortened and joined by an apostrophe:
They + are = they’re
If you can say “they are” in place of “they’re” then you are using it correctly. But if “they are” just doesn’t work, then you’ll need to look to one of the other spellings of this word.
There
The trick to remembering how to use there is hidden inside the word itself. There refers to a distant location.
She put her books over there.
In the example above, there refers to a place. Another word that refers to a place is here, which refers to a nearby location.
She left her books here.
If you’re using there to indicate a location (i.e. over there), make sure you use the spelling that has the word here tucked inside: T H E R E
Their
Their is a possessive pronoun. This means it’s a word used to show that someone owns something. For example:
The Smiths just washed their car.
The car belongs to them (the Smiths), and their demonstrates ownership. How to remember? Well, look at the spelling: t-h-e-i-r. Within this word is another word, and as luck would have it, this other word also implies (future) ownership. The word inside is heir.
If you’re using their to indicate ownership or possession, check to see if the word heir is within the spelling: T H E I R
Get in on the Homophones Challenge
Here are a few more sets of homophones:
- Too, two, to
- which, witch
- whether, weather
Can you think of any other homophones to add to this list?
Your and you’re
pique (as in pique their interest) and peak (as in mountain peak)
Oh yes, your and you’re are misspelled as often as they’re, there, and their. Pique/peak is a really good one!
Is it weird that I LOVE Homophones? *grins*
Another way to remember ‘their’ is in the “i”. “I” being possessive makes it their possession.
Now, “They’re driving their car there.” It’s FUN!
I love homophones too, and your sentence is a good example of the fun that can be had with homophones. They’re great for word play!
Guess who else loves homophones? Brian McKnight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0VpP7VxtYg
Naturally, that’s the first thing I think of.
OMG, that video is GREAT! Wow, I need to start using videos here on Writing Forward. Oh boy. Now I’m going to be spending who-knows-how-many-hours perusing YouTube for writing-related media. Thanks Kelvin!
Hehe, I am not sure how much you would find if you specifically look for it. I just happened to watch a lot of educational television, haha.
Kelvin Kaos last blog post..Moved RSS Feeds from FeedBurner to Google
I’ll poke around and see what turns up. Not sure when I’ll have time to do that, but I’m adding it to my to do list
Wow! I love Brian McKnight. What an awesome find there hahaha.
Melissa,
Very useful.
Especially for the guy that English is his other language…
Thanks!
Alik Levin | PracticeThis.coms last blog post..Program Yourself For Extremely Fast Performance
Thanks Alik!
Its and It’s!
Your and You’re!
Two of the biggest (sets) of problems, along with the “there”s.
Argh. These three drive me nuts. How HARD is that to remember?? (grin)
–Debs last blog post..Curse-Breaking
Deb, You’ve got me thinking about ice cream treats wrapped in chocolate chip cookies… yummm. These are actually easy to remember if you use mnemonic devices (tricks to help you remember) but I also imagine these are difficult for people who struggle with language or folks for whom English is a second language. I know when I was learning French – there was lots of stuff I couldn’t remember because there was just so much to absorb!
But having said all that, they drive me nuts too
I occasionally have a “here” and “hear” typo, but I see my friends texting me the wrong one all the time.
I honestly have issues remembering when to use “affect” vs “effect” and “except” vs “accept” when I’m writing, yet I clearly know the difference between the two words, I just blank out in mid type.
But those are severely simple tricks to remembering the “there” that I must tell others in dire need. Thanks.
Ah, well right up there are a couple of links with tips to help you remember affect/effect and accept/except. Normally, I’m good with homophones but they do slip by as typos every now and then. That’s why I proofread
The one that I always botch up is its and it’s. I know the reasoning behind the two but if I let my mind wander, I start to swap the two.
The theres are pretty easy for me to remember, though your tips are great.
Luckily you can always catch those typos during proofreading
as long as you know what they should be.
As an ESL writer, I can hardly believe that native speakers need to be told the difference between they’re, there and their. Pique and peak — okay: these are not words you use every day (unless your job is to recruit mountaineers). But they’re/there/their; weather/whether; to/two/too; which/witch; you’re/your; it’s/its — seriously?! Please show some respect for your mother tongue.
One of the words I myself struggle with occasionally is license/licence. I never know which one to use when (verb/noun and British/American English).
Language doesn’t come easily to everyone – even native speakers. I know lots of extremely smart people who are always tripped up by homophones. And of course, some people just slip and make a typo even if they know the correct word. At the same time, I agree with you – if you’re writing, you should show respect for the language and make an effort to spell and use words correctly, mother tongue or not. And while some people truly have a hard time with this stuff, there are plenty more who are just lazy and won’t take the time to learn proper language skills. That is what I find annoying.