Their, There or They're? The Difference, With Easy Tests

Few mistakes are as easy to spot, or as easy to make, as mixing up their, there and they're. All three sound the same in normal speech, so your fingers type whichever one is most familiar. Then spell check waves it through, because nothing is misspelled.

Here's the difference, three quick tests, and why even careful writers slip.

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

Their is possessive. It means "belonging to them," as in "their phones." There refers to a place ("sit over there") and also introduces sentences such as "there is a problem." They're is a contraction of "they are," as in "they're on their way." To check, replace the word with "they are." If the sentence still works, write they're. If you can replace it with "here," write there.

When to use their

Merriam-Webster defines their as "of or relating to them or themselves especially as possessors." Use it whenever something belongs to, or is connected with, a group of people or things.

• The students handed in their essays.
• The trees lost their leaves early this year.
• Ask the team for their opinion.

Their also works for one person whose gender you don't know or don't need to mention. Merriam-Webster notes that singular they and their are "now widely accepted," so "Everyone brought their own lunch" is standard English.

The word came into English from Old Norse around 1200, according to Etymonline, and replaced the Old English word hiera.

When to use there

There does two jobs. The first is pointing to a place, the meaning Merriam-Webster lists first as "in or at that place."

• Leave your bags over there.
• We went there last summer.

The second job is starting a sentence that says something exists. Grammarians call this the existential "there."

• There is a typo in the second line.
• There are two ways to fix it.
• Is there any coffee left?

When to use they're

They're is a contraction of "they are." Merriam-Webster dates it to around 1595. The apostrophe stands in for the missing letter "a."

• They're coming at six.
• I hope they're okay.
• They're not sure yet.

If the sentence still makes sense when you say "they are," you need they're. "They are coming at six" works, so it's they're. "They are car is red" doesn't, so it isn't.

Why do people mix them up?

Because they sound the same. The Oxford Learner's Dictionaries give they're the same strong pronunciation as their, so your ear gives you no help.

It isn't only a knowledge problem either. A 2026 study in the Journal of Memory and Language found a clear homophone interference effect in typing. In plain terms, even writers who know the rule sometimes type the wrong sound-alike because their fingers follow the sound.

Spell checkers make it worse. In a national study of 877 college papers, Lunsford and Lunsford found that many spelling errors were homonyms, which spell checkers "understandably do not flag." That's why a grammar checker that reads the whole sentence is more useful here than a plain spell check.

How rare is the mistake in published writing?

Very rare, because editors catch it. We checked Google Books Ngram data for 2022. "Their own" appeared about 7,500 times for every "there own," and "there is" appeared about 6,900 times for every "their is." Contractions like they're can't be counted the same way, because the Ngram tool splits them into separate pieces.

So the mistake mostly lives in emails, posts and first drafts. A final read-through is usually enough to catch it.

Practice: pick the right word

For other words that trip people up, see our guides on bear with me or bare with me and paid or payed.

Frequently asked questions

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

Their means belonging to them, there refers to a place or introduces "there is," and they're is short for "they are."

How do I remember there vs their?

There contains the word "here," and both point to a place. Their is about owning something.

Is it "they're going" or "their going"?

They're going, because you can say "they are going."

Can "their" refer to one person?

Yes. Merriam-Webster says singular they and their are now widely accepted, as in "Someone forgot their keys."

Why doesn't spell check catch their and there?

Each word is spelled correctly, so a basic spell checker has nothing to flag. A grammar checker that reads the sentence can catch it.

Is "there" ever used for things that aren't places?

Yes. It starts sentences that say something exists, like "There is a problem" or "There are three options."

Where does the word "their" come from?

It was borrowed from Old Norse around 1200 and replaced the Old English word hiera.