They're, Their - Part I

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and this is Part I of a series explaining they’re, their, and there. I know, I know, you can’t tell which one I’m talking about because they all three sound exactly alike. Here’s the one we’re going to start with: t-h-e-y-apostrophe-r-e. When you see an apostrophe in the middle of a word, it generally means that something has been omitted – usually, a space or a couple of letters. In this case, “they’re” with an apostrophe is short for “they are,” so the space and the a are replaced by the apostrophe. “They are” is not the same as “there,” like “over there,” or “their,” like “their sandwich.” If you can replace a “there” with “they are,” then it should be there written with an apostrophe. Tune in to the next two episodes to learn about the other theirs. That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.