Their, There or They're? How to Get It Right Every Time

Their shows possession (their house), there points to a place or introduces a sentence (over there, there is), and they're is short for they are (they're late). Three words, one sound, three completely different jobs.

The good news is that each word passes a simple test of its own, and you only ever need two of them. Check whether they are fits; if it does, write they're. If not, check whether the word shows something belongs to people; if it does, write their. Everything else is there.

Quick answer: They're = they are (They're on their way.). Their = belonging to them (their car). There = a place (over there) or a sentence starter (There is a problem). Test they are first, then ownership; if neither fits, use there.

On this page

1. A Two-Question Method
2. The Three Words in Detail
3. At-a-Glance Table
4. Examples You Can Learn From
5. There Is, There Are and There's
6. Singular Their
7. There's, Theirs and There're
8. Words Built on There
9. Agreement After Their
10. There in Everyday Expressions
11. Editing Exercise: A Group Chat
12. US vs UK vs Australia
13. Common mistakes
14. Memory Tricks
15. Proofreading Strategy
16. Practice quiz
17. Your Everyday Check

A Two-Question Method

Run every instance through these questions in order.

Question 1: Can I say "they are"? - "___ going to the beach." → They are going to the beach. ✅ → They're

Question 2: Does it show that something belongs to them? - "That's ___ dog." → The dog belongs to them. ✅ → Their

If both answers are no, it's there. - "Put the boxes over ___." → Not they are; nothing owned. → There - "___ is a meeting at ten." → Not they are; nothing owned. → There

You never need to test there directly. It's the default once the other two are ruled out.

The Three Words in Detail

Their

• What it is: a possessive determiner, the plural (or singular they) equivalent of his or her
• Followed by: a noun, sometimes with an adjective in between (their old car)
• Pronunciation: THAIR (in British and Australian accents, more like THEH-uh)
• Origin: borrowed from Old Norse þeirra, "of them," during the Viking-era contact that also gave English they and them

Their has a partner pronoun, theirs, used without a following noun: "The red car is theirs." Neither form takes an apostrophe.

There

• What it is: an adverb of place (sit there) and also a "dummy" or existential subject (there is, there are, there seems to be)
• Followed by: often a verb (there is), or it ends a phrase (over there, in there)
• Pronunciation: THAIR (identical to their in most accents)
• Origin: from Old English þǣr, closely related to where and here

That relationship with here and where is useful: all three are about place, and all three are spelled with -ere.

They're

• What it is: a contraction of they + are
• Followed by: an adjective, a noun phrase, an -ing verb, or a place phrase (they're happy, they're nurses, they're leaving, they're in Adelaide)
• Pronunciation: THAIR, or sometimes THAY-er in careful speech
• Origin: a written contraction, like you're and we're, reflecting the way the words are run together in speech

At-a-Glance Table

Examples You Can Learn From

Everyday

1. The Nguyens have painted their front door yellow.
2. There's a great fish and chip shop down by the pier.
3. They're flying to Honolulu for their anniversary.
4. Can you put the shopping bags over there?
5. The kids left their shoes in the hallway again.
6. I don't think they're coming to the barbecue.
7. Is there any milk left?

Workplace and Email

8. "The Leeds team have shared their quarterly targets." (British usage often treats team as plural)
9. "There will be a short fire drill at 11 a.m."
10. "I've spoken to the contractors, and they're happy with the revised schedule."
11. "Please ask applicants to bring their ID to the interview."
12. "There seems to be a problem with the shared calendar."
13. "Our clients in Phoenix say they're expanding next year."

Academic

14. There is limited evidence for this claim in the literature.
15. Participants were asked to rate their confidence on a five-point scale.
16. Many migratory birds return to their breeding grounds each spring.
17. If the results hold, they're likely to change clinical guidelines.

News Style

18. Residents of the coastal town say they're worried about rising sea levels.
19. There were no injuries in the fire, police confirmed.
20. Farmers in western New South Wales are counting their losses after the hailstorm.
21. Officials said there would be further updates on Monday.
22. Supporters lined the streets of Liverpool to welcome their team home.

All Three in One Sentence

23. They're parking their car over there.
24. There are rumors that they're selling their house.
25. Their bags are over there, but they're still at the bar.

Writing sentences like these yourself is a good exercise: if you can get all three right in a single line, you've got the system.

There Is, There Are and There's

There has a special role as a dummy subject that announces something exists. The real subject comes after the verb, and the verb should agree with it:

• There is one problem. (singular)
• There are two problems. (plural)
• There was a storm last night.
• There were storms all week.

In casual speech in all three countries, people often say "there's two problems" or "there's lots of people." It's very common and not likely to confuse anyone, but in formal writing, match the verb to the noun: "There are two problems."

Singular Their

You'll often see their used for one person:

• "Someone left their umbrella in reception."
• "Each employee should update their contact details."
• "Ask the customer whether they're happy with the replacement."

This singular use goes back centuries in English literature and is accepted by major dictionaries and many style guides in the US, UK and Australia, especially for a person whose gender is unknown or for someone who uses they as their pronoun. Some traditional style guides once preferred "his or her," but that has become much less common. The spelling rules don't change: their still shows possession and they're still means they are.

There's, Theirs and There're

Three more forms often join the confusion.

There's is a contraction of there is or there has: "There's a parcel for you," "There's been an accident on the M1." It has an apostrophe because letters are missing.

Theirs is the possessive pronoun used without a noun: "Our flat is bigger than theirs." It has no apostrophe because, like yours, ours and hers, it's already possessive.

There're is a contraction of there are. It's common in speech ("there're a few left") but looks clumsy in writing, and many readers find it unfamiliar. In written English, write there are in full.

So these two sound alike but mean entirely different things:

• "There's a dog in the garden." (there is)
• "That dog is theirs." (belongs to them)

Words Built on There

There forms the base of a family of formal words, all spelled with there, never their:

• therefore: as a result. "The venue is full; therefore, registration has closed."
• thereby: by that means. "The council widened the road, thereby easing congestion."
• thereafter: after that. "The trial lasted six months; thereafter, the program was rolled out nationally."
• thereabouts: approximately. "The trip costs $500 or thereabouts."
• therein: in that place or matter (formal). "Therein lies the problem."

These words are about logic, position or time, never ownership, so they always take the place-word spelling.

Agreement After Their

Because their can refer to one person or several, people sometimes worry about the verb that follows. The verb agrees with the noun after their, not with their itself:

• "Their car is blue." (one car)
• "Their cars are blue." (several cars)

And when singular they is the subject, the verb is always plural in form, just as with you: "Alex said they're running late" (not "they's" or "they is").

There in Everyday Expressions

There also turns up in short spoken phrases that have nothing to do with ownership or they are, and it is always spelled with -ere in them:

• There you go / there you are: said when handing something over, or meaning "that proves my point."
• There, there: a comforting phrase, often said to a child. "There, there, it's only a scratch."
• Hi there / hello there: a friendly greeting, common in the US, UK and Australia alike.
• So there! A playful, slightly childish way of ending an argument.
• Been there, done that: meaning you have already had an experience.
• Neither here nor there: irrelevant. "Whether it was Tuesday or Wednesday is neither here nor there."

These expressions often appear in texts and chat, which is exactly where typing speed causes slips. "Their you go" is a surprisingly common mistake in customer service replies.

Editing Exercise: A Group Chat

Here is a message sent to a family group chat. It has three errors.

"Mum and Dad said their running late, so there's no rush. Their bringing the pavlova and there famous potato salad. I'll save a spot for them over there near the gate."

Answers:

1. "their running late" → they're. "They are running late."
2. "Their bringing" → They're. "They are bringing."
3. "there famous potato salad" → their. The salad belongs to Mum and Dad.

The remaining two are correct: "there's no rush" (there is) and "over there" (a place). Checking each instance one at a time, rather than skimming the whole message, is what catches the errors.

US vs UK vs Australia

The spelling and meaning of their, there and they're are identical in American, British and Australian English. There's no regional preference for any form, and the confusion appears equally often in all three countries.

The differences are in the grammar around them. British and Australian English commonly treat collective nouns like team, government, council or band as plural, so you'll see "The team have made their decision." American English usually treats them as singular: "The team has made its decision." Both are correct within their own variety, and both use the possessive correctly; they just choose a different possessive.

Pronunciation varies too. In most British and Australian accents, all three words are pronounced without a final r sound, closer to "theh" or "theh-uh," while Americans generally pronounce the r. In every variety, though, the three words sound identical in normal speech.

Common mistakes

❌ Their going to be late. ✅ They're going to be late.

❌ The students forgot there homework. ✅ The students forgot their homework.

❌ Their is a problem with the Wi-Fi. ✅ There is a problem with the Wi-Fi.

❌ I left my bag over they're. ✅ I left my bag over there.

❌ They're house is in Canberra. ✅ Their house is in Canberra.

❌ That table is their's. ✅ That table is theirs.

Memory Tricks

There has "here" inside it. T-here. Both here and there are about place, so if you mean a location, use the word that contains here.

Their has "heir." An heir inherits property, something they own. Th-eir has heir hiding inside it, and their is about ownership.

They're's apostrophe is a missing "a." It stands for the a in are. If you can't put are back in, the apostrophe doesn't belong.

Proofreading Strategy

Because all three words are real, spell-checkers often won't help. A few habits catch nearly every error:

1. Search your document for "their," "there" and "they're" before you hit send.
2. Test each one with "they are" first, then with ownership.
3. Read aloud slowly, swapping in "they are" and "belonging to them" as you go.
4. Pay special attention to the start of sentences, where there is/are and they're are most often swapped.

The same contraction-versus-possessive logic applies to several other common pairs. Practice it with your vs you're, its vs it's and who's vs whose. And if you're unsure which verb to use after there, data is vs data are covers related agreement questions.

Practice quiz

Fill in the blank with their, there or they're.

1. ______ hoping to finish the renovation before Christmas.
2. Put your coats in ______ on the bed.
3. The Smiths are selling ______ boat.
4. ______ are three candidates on the shortlist.
5. I think ______ already at the restaurant.
6. The players thanked ______ fans after the match in Perth.

Answers

1. They're – "They are hoping" makes sense.
2. there – Points to a place ("in there").
3. their – The boat belongs to the Smiths.
4. There – Dummy subject introducing the candidates.
5. they're – "I think they are already at the restaurant."
6. their – The fans belong to (support) the players.

Your Everyday Check

Try "they are" first, then try "belongs to them," and only if both fail write there. Run that check whenever one of these words appears in something important, and within a few weeks the choice will become automatic. Readers notice these three words more than almost any others, so a moment's care pays off every time.