Wednesday's Words & Woes: Their, There, They're

Three words. Three short words. Three short words that too many writers use incorrectly. 

Why? I really would love to know how it's possible to not learn these; we have seen them all our reading lives. They have been featured in every spelling and/or usage quiz we ever took. Grammarians harp on them constantly. There are memes galore about them (one of them too ugly to ever show). 

And still. Still. Still, writers mess them up!

I don't know if I can make a difference -- when so many others have failed -- but I'll do my bit. And thanks to Dave Reilly, MAT, for suggesting this triplet. 

First: These three words all start with the same three letters. THE. Got it?

Second: They're is a contraction, which stands for they are. Remember that the point of using the apostrophe is to show one or more letters (or numbers) are missing. Click here for the last post I wrote on using apostrophes (it has links to all the previous ones on the topic, too!).

Third: Maybe remembering the phrase "here and there" can help remember the connection between the words here and there. There contains here, and both words indicate location, among other things. We often say "Here you go!" So we can link that short sentence with "There you go!" and be correct.

Here he is.   There he is.
Here are five lessons to learn.   There are five lessons to learn.
Where is Sally? She's here! She's there! She's everywhere!

Fourth: That leaves their, which contains heir. An heir is someone who will inherit (possess) or has inherited something. And their is the possessive pronoun.

It's their choice to stay home.
Mike and John finally made up their minds.
Joanne and Sally invited all of their friends to the party.

Here's a sentence that contains all three: I'm sure you can make up your own.

John and Sarah are over there, and they're going to the movies with their friends.

Do YOU have a way to remember any of these words that will help someone else? If so, please share your ideas in the comments. Help all of us old dogs learn new tricks!

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If you learned from this post, please share it with your network.
Let your connections learn, too.
(No fair keeping all the good stuff just for yourself.)

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Posts you may have missed last month
Monday Grammar Checkup: The Continuing Perils of Trusting Spellcheck
Tuesday Tricksters, January 5
Wednesday's Words & Woes: Advice / Advise
Happy Friday to You! 
Monday's Grammar Checkup: Capital Letters
Tuesday Tricksters, January 12 
Wednesday's Word & Woes: Advice & Advise
Friday Fun Food Day, January 15 
Monday's Grammar Checkup: QUIZ on Lie & Lay
Here We Go: Tuesday's Tricksters, January 19
Wednesdays Words & Woes: A Lot, Allot, Alot
Another Friday Funday, January 22
Monday Grammar Checkup: Another American Grammar Quiz!
Wednesday's Words & Woes: Loose & Lose
Oh! Look! It's a Frozen, Fabulous, Friday Funday!

February's Offerings So Far
Grammar Checkup: It's a Numbers Game
Tuesday Tricksters, February 2: Finally Some F Words!

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As an international corporate trainer, I have worked worldwide for nearly 20 years creating and leading American grammar (U.S. only), business writing, and a variety of interpersonal communication skills workshops. I am also a copy editor and proofreader, mainly of business-related materials. My home base is in Massachusetts, but I will travel anywhere to help business professionals look and sound as smart as they are.