Micro-listening
their there they're: choose the right word
How do you use their, there and they're?
Their, there and they're have different meanings: their shows possession, there indicates a place or existence, and they're means they are. For example, 'The students left their coats over there.' Use they're only when 'they are' fits the sentence, and use their before a noun showing connection or ownership.
Key points
- Their comes before a noun to show possession.
- There answers where or introduces something that exists.
- They're is always a contraction of they are.
- All three words usually sound identical in speech.
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At a glance
| Form | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| their | Shows possession or connection before a noun. | The dancers checked their costumes. |
| there | Indicates a place or introduces existence. | There are two seats outside. |
| they're | Short form of they are. | They're waiting by the lift. |
The full explanation
Their shows that something belongs to or connects with people. There indicates a location or introduces an existence statement with forms of be. They're is a shortened form of they are, where an apostrophe replaces the letter a.
The artists brought their own brushes to the studio.
Why it works: Their shows ownership before the noun brushes.
3 more examples
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Please place the extra chairs over there near the entrance.
There indicates the physical location for the chairs.
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The volunteers called to say they're ready to open the gallery.
They're contracts they are before the adjective ready.
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There is an extra table near the hallway.
There is states that a table exists in that spot.
Read the full guide
Try the listening exercise
Use their to show ownership before a noun
Use their whenever something belongs to or associates with two or more people. In English, this word functions as a possessive determiner, meaning it stands immediately before a noun or noun phrase. You can test this choice by comparing it with other possessive words such as our or his. If our fits grammatically, their is the correct spelling.
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The committee members submitted their final project report.
Why it works: Their appears directly before the noun phrase final project report to indicate ownership.
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The new tenants unpacked their luggage in the hallway.
Why it works: Their shows that the luggage belongs to the tenants.
Your turn
Select the sentence that uses their correctly.
Answer: The visitors left their umbrellas by the entrance.
Show the answer
Answer: The visitors left their umbrellas by the entrance.
Their is correct because umbrellas is a noun that belongs to the visitors.
Choose there to identify a place
Select there when you want to answer the question where. This word functions as an adverb of place, pointing toward a specific position, room, or direction away from the speaker. It acts as the opposite of here. If you can point your finger or replace the word with here, there is the form you need.
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We can stack the folding tables there by the back wall.
Why it works: There specifies the physical location where the tables belong.
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The gallery curator walked over there to inspect the lighting.
Why it works: Over there indicates direction and physical distance from the speaker.
You can practise this again in There was or there were: how to choose and Collective nouns: choose the right group.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly points to a physical location?
Answer: Leave your registration badge there on the desk.
Show the answer
Answer: Leave your registration badge there on the desk.
There correctly answers where the badge should be left.
Use there is or there are to state existence
Use there at the start of clauses that introduce the presence or existence of people or items. In this grammatical structure, there pairs with a form of the verb be, such as is, are, was, or were. It does not refer to a distant location. Instead, it announces that something exists or remains available.
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There is an extra roll of tape on the supply shelf.
Why it works: There is introduces the existence of a singular item on the shelf.
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There are twelve participants enrolled in the afternoon class.
Why it works: There are states the presence of multiple participants.
Your turn
Choose the correct phrase to complete: '___ several empty seats in row four.'
Answer: There are
Show the answer
Answer: There are
There are introduces the existence of plural seats.
Substitute they are to confirm they're
Write they're only when you can replace the word with the two full words they are. This spelling contains an apostrophe that marks where the vowel letter a was removed during contraction. If the sentence makes no sense after saying they are aloud, this spelling is incorrect. Never use an apostrophe for simple possession or location.
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The technicians called to explain that they're running late.
Why it works: Expanding the contraction gives they are running late, which makes complete sense.
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If the musicians arrive soon, they're likely to finish rehearsal early.
Why it works: They're stands for they are before the adjective likely.
Your turn
Select the sentence where they're is used correctly.
Answer: They're painting the main hallway this morning.
Show the answer
Answer: They're painting the main hallway this morning.
The sentence expands naturally to They are painting the main hallway this morning.
Inspect the next word for grammatical clues
Looking at the word immediately following the blank often reveals the correct form quickly. A noun or descriptive adjective followed by a noun strongly suggests their. A verb with an ing ending or an adjective describing people usually pairs with they're. Prepositions or standalone sentence endings often follow the location word there.
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The staff gathered their materials before the session started.
Why it works: The noun materials immediately follows their.
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The speakers confirmed they're eager to answer questions.
Why it works: The adjective eager describes the speakers and follows the contraction they're.
Your turn
Which form belongs in the sentence: 'The coordinators reviewed ___ schedule'?
Answer: their
Show the answer
Answer: their
The following word schedule is a noun, indicating ownership.
Distinguish identical sounds during listening
Because their, there, and they're sound identical in natural English speech, ear training requires analyzing sentence structure rather than pronunciation. Native speakers pronounce all three words with the exact same phonetic pattern. When listening to a lecture or dialogue, notice whether the speaker attaches a noun of possession or describes an ongoing action.
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I heard that they're planning a reception.
Why it works: Even though the sound is identical, the following verb planning indicates they are.
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The supervisors stored their documents inside the cabinet.
Why it works: The sound links directly to the noun documents, confirming the possessive form.
Your turn
When taking notes from speech, how do you decide which spelling to write?
Answer: Analyze whether the sentence structure requires possession, location, or a verb.
Show the answer
Answer: Analyze whether the sentence structure requires possession, location, or a verb.
Because pronunciation is identical, grammatical context provides the only reliable clue.
Spot automatic keyboard slips before sending
Typing mistakes with these three homophones happen frequently because human fingers often produce the most common motor pattern rather than the intended word. Even fluent writers type there when meaning their during hurried email composition. Pausing to verify each occurrence during a second reading pass eliminates these unintentional mechanical slips effectively.
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Please review their comments on the draft proposal.
Why it works: Rushing writers often mistype there comments, but comments requires possessive their.
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The files remain over there on the shared shelf.
Why it works: Location requires there, not the possessive spelling their.
Your turn
Which sentence has been corrected to remove a common typing slip?
Answer: The clients sent their feedback by noon.
Show the answer
Answer: The clients sent their feedback by noon.
Feedback is a noun belonging to the clients, requiring their.
Run a systematic replacement check in your draft
To verify your choices reliably, apply a simple two-step editing routine. First, expand every instance to they are. If the sentence makes sense, keep they're. If it fails, check whether the sentence answers where or introduces existence. If so, choose there. If neither test applies and a noun follows, choose their.
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They're confident that their office will remain there.
Why it works: Testing each word: they are confident (they're), our office (their), in that place (there).
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There is no doubt that their team worked hard.
Why it works: There is introduces existence, while their specifies the team.
Your turn
What is the most reliable first step when checking a sentence that contains they're?
Answer: Expand the word to they are to see if the sentence remains grammatically sound.
Show the answer
Answer: Expand the word to they are to see if the sentence remains grammatically sound.
The expansion test quickly confirms or rules out the contraction.
Common mistakes
What learners often say, what to say instead, and why.
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Not this:
The manager checked there notes.Say: The manager checked their notes.
Notes belong to the manager or group, so use possessive their.
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Not this:
They're three messages in your inbox.Say: There are three messages in your inbox.
There are introduces the existence of plural messages.
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Not this:
The players said their ready.Say: The players said they're ready.
They're means they are before the adjective ready.
-
Not this:
Put the boxes over their.Say: Put the boxes over there.
There indicates the location where the boxes should go.
Before you go
Remember this
Remember three quick tests: their belongs to people, there names a place or starts an existence phrase, and they're always expands to they are.
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Listening 1 of 4
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Read the transcript
There is an extra table inside.
There is introduces the presence of a single table, followed by a vowel sound.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listening 2 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
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Read the transcript
Visitors can see their art inside.
Their shows ownership of the art and comes right before a vowel.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- In American English this t sounds like a quick, soft d.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- In American English this t sounds like a quick, soft d.
Try a longer clip. Listen once, then replay the part you missed.
Listening 3 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
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Read the transcript
Several musicians arrived early because they're eager to share their instruments with our local choir this afternoon.
They're contracts they are before eager, while their expresses ownership before instruments.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
This clip is longer. Follow the instruction above the answer field.
Listening 4 of 4
Listen, then type the missing words. The rest of the text is already there.
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Read the transcript
Many local painters bring their own brushes whenever they're eager to work together in our community hall. If you look over there, you can see large wooden easels along each wall. There are spacious tables near our sunny windows where everyone can organize supplies easily.
This passage features their before own brushes, they're before eager, there after over, and there are before plural tables.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
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Say it your way
Describe a group project or family gathering where people brought items and shared a workspace. Explain who brought their belongings, where people sat, and what they are planning next.
Use: their there they're: choose the right word
You could start with “During our weekend project, the team members brought their…”
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There is an extra table inside.
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- I used “their there they're: choose the right word”.
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Questions about "their there they're: choose the right word"
Can I use their to refer to only one person?
Yes. In modern English, their is widely used as a singular pronoun when the gender of a person is unknown or when referring to an unspecified individual. This avoids awkward phrasing like his or her while remaining grammatically accepted in both professional and casual contexts.
Every visitor should keep their badge visible at all times.
Somebody left their notebook in the conference hall.
How do I know whether to use there is or they're?
Use there is when announcing that a singular object or condition exists. Use they're when referring to two or more people performing an action or having a characteristic. Remember that they're always stands for they are, which requires a plural subject.
There is a fresh pot of coffee in the break room.
They're enjoying a coffee break after the morning presentation.
Why do spellcheckers sometimes miss errors with their, there, and they're?
Spellcheckers often miss these mistakes because all three spellings are legitimate English words. Unless the software conducts deep grammar analysis, it sees a correctly spelled word and accepts it. Reading your text aloud while expanding contractions helps you catch errors that software overlooks.
The software accepted their going to the park even though they're was required.
Can their or they're ever appear at the very end of a sentence?
There can easily end a sentence because it specifies a location. They're rarely ends a sentence in standard English because contractions with subject pronouns require a predicate. Their never ends a sentence because it must precede a noun. If you need a possessive pronoun at the end of a sentence, use theirs instead.
We placed the spare chairs over there.
The backpacks on the bench are theirs.
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