There vs Their vs They’re: Place, Possession, or “They Are”?

There, their and they’re sound the same in ordinary speech, but their grammar is completely different.

There: place or existence

Use there for location or in the structure there is / there are.

• Put the books over there.
• There are two lessons tomorrow.

Their: possession

Their means “belonging to them” and comes before a noun.

• The students opened their books.
• The tutors updated their availability.

They’re: they are

They’re is only a contraction.

• They’re ready. = They are ready.
• I think they’re improving. = I think they are improving.

Three quick tests

If you can say they are, use they’re. If a noun follows and the meaning is possession, use their. If the sentence points to a place or says something exists, use there.

Quick practice

1. ___ waiting outside.
2. The learners finished ___ homework.
3. Is the meeting room over ___?
4. ___ is a problem with the audio.

Answers: They’re; their; there; There.

Editing tip: because spellcheck may accept all three words, rely on grammar and meaning rather than spelling software alone.