They’re vs. Their vs. There

We’re on homophones again this month, this time with three words I often see used interchangeably. They’re, their and there sure sound alike, but they have totally different functions. So how do you know which one to use? It’s really not that hard. If you remember the first two rules below, the rest will come easy.

1. They’re is a contraction of they are. They’re going to the football game.

2. Their is an adjective meaning “of or relating to them or themselves.” Their team is favored to win.

3. There has several meanings. It can be an adverb meaning “in or at that place,” a noun meaning “that place,” or a pronoun used as a function word. The stadium is over there. The running back took the ball from there. There is a great game going on here. You don’t even need to remember all that. You’ve already memorized they’re and their, right? So now you know if neither of those fits your sentence, you must want there. Easy.

And if you want to get fancy: They’re going over there to the football game to watch their team win.

(Definitions taken from The Merriam-Webster Dictionary.)