Although phonics rules provide a solid guideline, English is sometimes a phonetically confusing language. Many words that are spelled quite differently are pronounced exactly, or nearly exactly, the same way. This causes confusion in students when they try to spell these words in their written assignments. What follows is a breakdown of the most commonly confused words, and tips and tricks for identifying which version you are looking for.
Their, They're, and There
Three different versions of this homonym exist:
The first is a possessive pronoun called "their." This means that it is a word that refers to a person or object, and indicates that the person or object identified possesses something. For example, "Alan and Sheila went to their daughter's recital." If the word can be replaced with "his" or "her" and sounds mostly correct, chances are you want to use "their."
The second is a contraction of the words "they" and "are" called "they're." A contraction removes a letter or letters from a word and substitutes an apostrophe. In this case, the letter "a" is replaced. Consider the sentences "They are going to Houston," and "They're going to Houston." The two sentences express the exactly the same idea. If you can replace the word you are looking for with "they are" and the sentence makes sense, chances are you want to use "they're."
Finally, the last is a preposition indicating a place called "there." Sometimes this place can be specific, as in "Greg is going there," and other times it is more general, as in "There are eight cats." If you are referring to a place, either specific, or general, chances are you want to use "there." If you can replace the word you are looking for with "to Toronto" (or another location) and the sentence makes sense, it is probably safe to choose this version of the word.