#there their

There/their/they’re Homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings.

The rules:

Use “there” to refer to a place that isn’t here – “over there”. We also use “there” to state something – “There are no cakes left.” “Their” indicates possession – something belonging to them. “They’re” is short for “they are”.

How not to do it:

Their going to be here soon We should contact they’re agent Can we use there boat?

Their is an argument that says How to do it properly:They’re going to be here soon We should contact their agent Can we use their boat? There is an argument that says

Your/you’re

The rules:

“Your” indicates possession – something belonging to you.

“You’re” is short for “you are”.

How not to do it:

Your beautiful Do you know when your coming over? Can I have one of you’re biscuits? How to do it properly:

You’re beautiful Do you know when you’re coming over? Can I have one of your biscuits?

Its/it’s

The rules:

“It’s” is only ever used when short for “it is”. “Its” indicates something belonging to something that isn’t masculine or feminine (like “his” and “hers”, but used when you’re not talking about a person). If it helps, remember that inanimate objects can’t really possess something in the way a human can.

How not to do it:

Its snowing outside The sofa looks great with it’s new cover How to do it properly:

It’s snowing outside The sofa looks great with its new cover

Then/than

Confusion between “then” and “than” probably arises because the two look and sound similar.

The rules:

“Than” is used in comparisons. “Then” is used to indicate something following something else in time, as in step-by-step instructions, or planning a schedule (“we’ll go there then there”).

How not to do it:

She was better at it then him It was more then enough How to do it properly:

She was better at it than him It was more than enough We’ll go to the baker first, then the coffee shop