7 Examples of Their vs There vs They're

John Spacey, December 01, 2019

Their indicates ownership. There indicates a place. They're is a contraction of the phase "they are."

Their	There	They're
Belongs to them.	At that place.	They are

Examples

The following are examples that compare the use of their, there and they're.

Their dog is nice.

There is a nice dog at the park.

They're going to get a nice dog from the rescue shelter.

Go to their house.

Go there!

They're not home.

Their grades were always good.

There was one bad grade on my report card. ←there is often used to mention that something exists

They're getting their report cards today.

Their thoughts turned to summer.

There was no doubt that summer would be wonderful.

They're looking forward to summer.

Their teacher said there would be a test tomorrow so they're all studying.

Their house is big.

There is a big house.

They're buying a big house.

Their house needs repairs because there was a big storm. They're going to check if their insurance will cover it.

Notes

Their always means "belongs to them" and is extremely straight forward to use.

There is used to indicate a place but is also used in very abstract ways to indicate that something exists. For example, "there is a ghost."

They're is usually a contraction of "they are." This contraction is not optional as "they are" tends to look awkward in writing. In rare cases, they're can be used as a contraction of "they were" which is the past tense of "they are." However, this contraction is optional as "they were" is often used.