Their, There or They're? How to Choose
1 min read
Short answer
Their means *belonging to them*: "their house." There means *in that place*, or introduces a sentence: "over there", "there is a problem." They're means *they are*: "they're late."
The three words
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| their | belonging to them | They parked their car. |
| there | in that place; or “there is/are” | Put it over there. / There are two options. |
| they’re | they are | They’re on their way. |
A test for each
They’re: expand it to they are. If the sentence still works, use they’re. They are going home ✓. They are car is red ✗ — so that one is their.
Their: swap in our. If the sentence still makes sense, you want their. We parked our car ✓.
There: everything else. Two memory aids help:
- There contains the word here — both are places.
- Their contains heir — a person who inherits, which is about owning.
Theirs and there’s
The same logic carries over:
- Theirs (no apostrophe) is the possessive: The choice is theirs.
- There’s means there is or there has: There’s a train at six.
Their’s is never correct.
Checking your writing
Spellcheckers miss these because all three are real words. Read the sentence aloud and expand every they’re to they are; most mistakes show up immediately.