Homophones: they’re, there, and their.
Homophones are phrases that sound the identical when pronounced out loud however have completely different meanings. Homophones comparable to they’re, there, and there confuse children, slip previous spell test, and pop up all over as typos and misspellings.
To make issues worse, many homophones have completely different spellings, which suggests spell test ignores them, since various spellings are appropriate.
These little devils of the English language give readers complications and duplicate editors nightmares, so it’s as much as us as writers to learn to use homophones accurately. If we are able to try this, we are able to unfold correct homophone spelling and utilization to the far corners of the planet.
They’re, There, and Their
I’m keen to guess that they’re, there, and their are among the many mostly misspelled and misused phrases within the English language. You see it on a regular basis — in newspapers and magazines, on weblog posts and feedback, even on indicators and commercials – there is used the place their must be, and vice versa. Throw they’re into the combo and also you’ve obtained a giant mess.
It’s fairly disheartening.
However there are some straightforward methods to recollect which homophone is appropriate while you’re utilizing they’re, there, and there. And for these of you who already understand how these three homophones must be used correctly, let this be a reminder that we can’t depend on spell test.
They’re
That is the best of the three as a result of it’s a contraction, which signifies that the phrase itself is definitely two phrases shortened and joined by an apostrophe:
They + are = they’re
For those who can say “they’re” rather than “they’re” then you might be utilizing it accurately. But when “they’re” doesn’t work, then you definitely’ll must look to one of many different spellings of this phrase.
There
The trick to remembering how you can use there is hidden contained in the phrase itself. There refers to a distant location.
She put her books over there.
Within the instance above, there refers to a spot. One other phrase that refers to a spot is right here, which refers to a close-by location.
She left her books right here.
For those who’re utilizing there to point a location (i.e. over there), be sure you use the spelling that has the phrase right here tucked inside: T H E R E
Their
Their is a possessive pronoun. This implies it’s a phrase used to point out that somebody owns one thing. For instance:
The Smiths simply washed their automotive.
The automotive belongs to them (the Smiths), and their demonstrates possession. The way to keep in mind? Properly, take a look at the spelling: t-h-e-i-r. Inside this phrase is one other phrase, and as luck would have it, this different phrase additionally implies (future) possession. The phrase inside is inheritor.
For those who’re utilizing their to point possession or possession, test to see if the phrase inheritor is throughout the spelling: T H E I R
Get in on the Homophones Problem
Listed here are a couple of extra units of homophones:
- Too, two, to
- Its, it’s
- Settle for, besides
