Word Usage
Mary W. Ng
June 26, 2009
their, there, they’re
Their is a possessive determiner; it is the possessive form of the third person plural pronoun they. They’re is the abbreviation of they are. There is a pronoun used to introduce the true subject of a sentence.
| Incorrect: | Their seem to be many opinions about the best way to lose weight. |
| Correct: | There seem to be many opinions about the best way to lose weight. |
| Incorrect: | Do you know why there visiting us? |
| Correct: | Do you know why they’re visiting us? |
| Incorrect: | It is there money; they earned it. |
| Correct: | It is their money; they earned it. |