Their vs There vs They're: The Simple Rule

Possession vs location vs "they are"

Reviewed by the Grammarlyzer Editorial Team · Our Review Standards · Published January 22, 2026 · Updated June 13, 2026

Quick Answer

Their = possession (belongs to them).

There = location or existence.

They're = "they are."

Quick test: Replace with they are (they're), our (their), or here (there).

Memory Trick: Their = possession, there = place, they're = they are.

πŸ”‘ Key Takeaway

The most dangerous context for these errors is professional writing: a typo in a client email, a report header, or a social media post can undermine credibility instantly. The "they are" expansion test takes two seconds and catches all three confusions.

Quick Comparison

Form Use It For Quick Check
Their Possession or ownership If our or your would fit, choose their.
There Place, position, or existence If the sentence means in that place or starts there is/are, use there.
They're Contraction of they are Expand it to they are. If it still works, use they're.

Deep Dive: Choose by Sentence Job

Their, there, and they're are not three spellings of the same idea. They only sound the same. In a real draft, each form has a different job, and the safest edit is to identify that job before you think about the spelling.

Their is a possessive determiner. It normally sits before a noun and tells the reader that the noun belongs to, is connected with, or is assigned to a group: their meeting, their invoice, their deadline, their account. It works like our, your, and her. If replacing the word with our keeps the sentence grammatical, you probably need their.

There points to a place, direction, situation, or existence. It can be literal, as in Leave the boxes there, or structural, as in There are two problems. It does not own the noun after it. In there are, the word is part of a sentence-opening structure that introduces something to the reader.

They're is a contraction. It always expands to they are. That means it should be followed by a complement, adjective, noun phrase, or verb phrase that can naturally come after are: they're ready, they're the reviewers, they're sending the file. If the sentence cannot survive the expansion, the contraction is wrong.

Decision Matrix

Before a noun that belongs to them? Use their. Pointing to a place or introducing existence? Use there. Can you say they are? Use they're.

Three Reliable Tests

1. The Ownership Test

Replace the word with our or your. If the sentence still has the same grammar shape, use their. The team shared their notes becomes the team shared our notes; the owner changes, but the sentence still works.

2. The Here/Place Test

Replace the word with here, in that place, or a there is/there are structure. If the sentence points to location or existence, use there. The folder is there can become the folder is here.

3. The Expansion Test

Expand the word to they are. If the expanded sentence is natural, use they're. They're reviewing the draft becomes they are reviewing the draft. Their reviewing the draft cannot pass that test.

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect:

There laptops are already on the table.

βœ“ Correct:

Their laptops are already on the table.

The laptops belong to them, so the sentence needs the possessive form their.
❌ Incorrect:

Their presenting the quarterly results now.

βœ“ Correct:

They're presenting the quarterly results now.

The sentence expands to they are presenting, so it needs the contraction they're.
❌ Incorrect:

Please set the boxes over their.

βœ“ Correct:

Please set the boxes over there.

The sentence points to a place, so the location word there is correct.
❌ Incorrect:

They're response was shorter than expected.

βœ“ Correct:

Their response was shorter than expected.

The word sits before the noun response and means the response belongs to them, so the possessive their is required.
❌ Incorrect:

Their are two issues with the contract.

βœ“ Correct:

There are two issues with the contract.

This is the existence pattern there are. No one owns the issues in this sentence; the sentence introduces them.
❌ Incorrect:

We should confirm whether there available tomorrow.

βœ“ Correct:

We should confirm whether they're available tomorrow.

The sentence means they are available, so the contraction is the correct form.

High-Risk Contexts

Business email

Business emails often contain short status sentences, and short sentences give grammar checkers less context. In They're reviewing their contract over there, all three words are correct because each has a separate job: the people are reviewing, the contract belongs to them, and the location is identified.

Team and company names

When a company, class, department, or committee acts like a group, their can refer to that group's materials: The committee updated their recommendation. If your style guide treats organizations as singular, you may rewrite to the committee updated its recommendation. The key is that the word still shows possession.

Singular they

Use their with singular they when referring to one person whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or intentionally not specified: Each reviewer should add their initials. The spelling does not change because the possessive role is the same.

Sentence openings

Writers often miss there in openings such as there is, there are, there seems to be, and there will be. These openings introduce information. They do not show ownership, and they cannot expand to they are.

Mini Edits by Writing Context

Email:

They're waiting for their revised quote before they decide whether to meet there.

Contraction, possession, and location all appear in one natural business sentence.
Academic:

The participants submitted their responses after learning that there were no time limits.

Their responses shows ownership; there were introduces existence.
Support:

They're checking whether their account settings are saved there.

Useful when reviewing customer-support notes or product messages.
Casual:

I think they're leaving their coats over there.

The same rule works outside formal writing.

Real Draft Review Workflow

When you are proofreading a finished draft, do not try to remember a rule in the abstract. Move through the document and classify each use. The question is not "Which spelling looks familiar?" The question is "What does this word do in this exact sentence?"

Step 1: Look one word to the right

If the next word is a noun, noun phrase, or adjective plus noun, test for their. In their updated proposal, the phrase after the word is a thing owned by or associated with a group. In they're updated proposal, the expansion they are updated proposal fails immediately.

Step 2: Look for a form of be

If the word is followed by is, are, was, were, will be, or seems to be, test for there. There are three revisions introduces revisions. It does not describe people who are three revisions, and it does not show ownership.

Step 3: Expand before accepting a contraction

Apostrophes can look persuasive, but they're is correct only when they are works. They're late works because they are late works. They're files fails because they are files changes the meaning unless you literally mean the people are files.

Step 4: Read the repaired sentence aloud

Because the words sound alike, reading aloud will not reveal the spelling, but it can reveal the meaning. Pause and name the role: ownership, place, existence, or contraction. That label gives you the spelling.

Edge Cases and Style Notes

There as a placeholder subject

In sentences such as There is a delay and There were several objections, there does not point to a visible location. Grammarians often call this an existential or dummy subject pattern. For practical editing, you do not need the label; you only need to recognize that the sentence introduces the existence of something.

Their with singular they

Modern English commonly uses their for a single person when the writer does not know, does not need, or does not want to specify gender. Each applicant should upload their portfolio is clear and widely accepted in many style guides. If your teacher, editor, or organization requires another style, revise the whole sentence instead of swapping their for there or they're.

They're in formal writing

They're is grammatically correct, but some formal documents prefer they are. That is a tone choice, not a spelling correction. If the document is a contract, academic paper, official policy, or very formal report, expanding the contraction may sound more appropriate.

Company voice and collective nouns

American business writing often treats company names as singular: Grammarlyzer updated its guide. British English and informal team writing may allow plural agreement: The team updated their guide. Neither choice makes there or they're correct. The possessive meaning is still the deciding factor.

Before-and-After Mini Rewrites

Client update

Draft:

Their waiting in the lobby because there badges were not ready.

Revision:

They're waiting in the lobby because their badges were not ready.

The first word expands to they are. The second word sits before badges and shows ownership.

Project note

Draft:

They're is no backup plan if there vendor misses the deadline.

Revision:

There is no backup plan if their vendor misses the deadline.

There is introduces the absence of a plan. Their vendor identifies the vendor connected to them.

Academic sentence

Draft:

The students said there more confident after receiving feedback on they're outlines.

Revision:

The students said they're more confident after receiving feedback on their outlines.

The first phrase means they are more confident. The outlines belong to the students, so the second phrase needs their.

One-Page Audit for Publishers and Students

If you are checking a page before publishing, treat every their/there/they're choice as a small meaning audit. The goal is not to memorize a slogan; the goal is to prove that the sentence gives the reader the right relationship between people, objects, places, and actions.

Audit pattern: noun after the word

When the next important word is a noun, read the phrase as a unit: their notes, their decision, their office, their research. If the phrase answers whose notes? or whose decision?, keep their. If the sentence says there notes or they're notes, it probably needs revision unless they are notes is literally the intended meaning.

Audit pattern: verb phrase after the word

When the word is followed by a verb phrase, especially an -ing verb, adjective, or noun phrase that can follow are, expand it. They're preparing, they're available, and they're the reviewers all pass. Their preparing can appear only in unusual noun-phrase structures such as their preparing the report helped us, which is rare and formal; most everyday drafts need they're.

Audit pattern: sentence starts with the word

At the beginning of a sentence, all three forms are possible, so meaning matters. Their budget was approved starts with a possessive phrase. There was a budget issue introduces existence. They're approving the budget expands to they are approving. Do not choose based on the first word alone; look at the next two or three words.

Audit pattern: short UI and headline copy

Short copy is harder because context is compressed. A button label, table note, or headline might say Their files are ready, There are files ready, or They're ready. All three can be valid in different contexts. When a headline feels ambiguous, rewrite the phrase instead of forcing a homophone: Team files are ready or Files are ready in the folder.

Audit pattern: do not trust apostrophes alone

Apostrophes often signal missing letters, but they do not automatically make a word more correct or more formal. They're is right only when they are is right. Their never takes an apostrophe, even when the owned thing is plural: their reports, their children, their accounts. There also never takes an apostrophe because it is not possessive and it is not a contraction.

Audit pattern: rewrite if all three feel possible

If you keep circling the same sentence, the problem may be clarity rather than spelling. Replace a pronoun with the actual noun: The reviewers are waiting for the client's files in the lobby. A clearer noun phrase can remove the homophone entirely and make the sentence easier for readers and checkers. This is especially useful in headlines, captions, and short app messages.

🎯 Test Your Knowledge

1. ___ presenting the final proposal at 2 PM.

2. Put the signed copies over ___ by the printer.

3. Fill in: "______ going to miss the deadline if we don't hurry." (Test: expand to "they are going...")

4. Fill in: "The committee submitted ______ final report on Friday."

5. Which is correct? "______ no easy answers to this question."

See It Live: Our Engine Flags a Real Mistake

Try the rule against a real sentence. This widget runs Grammarlyzer's in-browser engine, so nothing you type leaves your device. The starter sentence (“There laptops are already on the table.”) already contains a slip—edit it or paste your own to watch the engine react.

Expected correction: Their laptops are already on the table..

Honest limits: the engine reliably catches spelling, agreement, and punctuation, but choosing between Their, There and They're depends on meaning. The checker is a fast second pass—the decision stays with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between their, there, and they're?

Their shows possession, there points to place or existence, and they're means they are. The fastest check is to ask whether the sentence needs ownership, location, or an expanded they are.

How do I test they're quickly?

Expand the word to they are. If the sentence still works, use they're. If it does not, choose their or there based on meaning.

When does there not mean location?

There also introduces existence, as in There is a problem or There are three options. In those sentences, it does not point to a physical place.

When should I use their?

Use their before a noun when that noun belongs to people, a team, a company, a class, an animal, or a singular they subject. It answers the question whose?

When should I use there?

Use there for a place, direction, situation, or existence. It appears in phrases such as over there, there is, there are, and there seems to be.

Why do these mistakes survive spell check?

All three forms are valid spellings, so a basic spelling tool cannot reject one by spelling alone. The sentence has to be checked for ownership, location, or the expandable phrase they are.

Can Grammarlyzer catch every their/there/they're mistake?

Grammarlyzer can catch many likely swaps, especially before nouns or verb phrases, but final review still matters when the sentence is very short, informal, or missing context.

Word Origins & Etymology

Their comes from Old Norse 'ΓΎeirra' (of them), which replaced the Old English 'hiera.' Adopted during the Viking influence on English (9th-11th centuries), it has always been a possessive determiner.

There derives from Old English 'ΓΎΗ£r' (in that place), related to Proto-Germanic '*ΓΎar.' It's one of the oldest words in English, functioning as an adverb of place.

They're is a modern contraction of 'they are.' Like all contractions, the apostrophe marks the removed letter.

πŸ”— The Connection

Despite sounding identical, these three words have completely unrelated origins. 'Their' is Norse, 'there' is Anglo-Saxon, and 'they're' is a modern contraction. English merged their pronunciations over centuries.

Real-World Examples

πŸ’Ό Business:

The clients confirmed their attendance for the product demo on Thursday.

Their = possessive (belonging to them)
πŸ’Ό Business:

The conference room is over there, just past the elevators.

There = location/place
πŸ’Ό Business:

They're planning to announce the acquisition at next week's board meeting.

They're = they are
πŸ—£οΈ Daily:

The neighbors painted their fence bright blue.

Their = possessive
πŸ—£οΈ Daily:

Is there any milk left in the fridge?

There = existence ('there is/are')
πŸ—£οΈ Daily:

They're coming over for dinner tonight.

They're = they are
❌ Common Mistake:

There dog keeps barking at night.

Wrong: should be 'their' (possessive). The dog belongs to them.
❌ Common Mistake:

Their going to be late again.

Wrong: should be 'they're' (they are). Test: 'they are going' works.
❌ Common Mistake:

I left my keys over they're.

Wrong: should be 'there' (place). Test: 'over they are' makes no sense.
πŸ“ All Three:

They're parking their car over there by the entrance.

They are + possessive + location β€” all three in one sentence

Why Do People Confuse Them?

This is a triple homophone β€” all three words sound exactly the same (/Γ°Ι›r/) in all English dialects. Unlike some homophones where pronunciation gives a clue, there is zero auditory distinction. The brain stores all three at the same phonetic address, and during fast writing, the motor cortex may retrieve the wrong spelling. Autocorrect also struggles because all three are valid English words.

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