There, Their, They're

[Bathsheba]

Not that I judge what somebody says by the way they spell... that would be unfair... but I just thought I would create this thread for people who just want to know the difference

There is usually a direction or describing the state of something. "Put the chocolate over there". "There is usually a good reason to hide your chocolate if you have kids in the house".

Their indicates ownership. "Their range of chocolate is the best". or "The chocolate is theirs, not ours".

They're is short for 'they are'. "They're going to be sorry if they eat my chocolate again!"

I'm not the world's best speller but this little set of words is handy to know

[appletree]

I always get where and were mixed up! Which one is which?

[Bathsheba]

LOL Ok I REALLY don't want to come across as some kind of grammar/spelling expert because i am NOT! But... (and please correct me if i am wrong!)

Where is usually a question or reference to a place. "Where is my chocolate!?" "I can't remember where I put it".

Were is almost always about something that happened in the past. "We were so angry when we found out that somebody had eaten our chocolate".

[ladybird11]

I always get mixed up with 'its' and 'it's'.

I get the 'it's' is short for 'it is' - but in what context should 'its' be used?

[PumpkinZulu]

Don't forget Your and You're

*sits patiently in front of Bath for a grammar lesson*

But I agree, it's good to know the difference.

[meow]

LOL Ok I REALLY don't want to come across as some kind of grammar/spelling expert because i am NOT! But... (and please correct me if i am wrong!)

Where is usually a question or reference to a place. "Where is my chocolate!?" "I can't remember where I put it".

Were is almost always about something that happened in the past. "We were so angry when we found out that somebody had eaten our chocolate".

Yep- and as with THERE, WHERE has the word HERE in it which can be helpful to remember that it is the one for direction

Leesa- Its been a long time since someone asked that

[Kazbah]

It's vs its

It's is *always* an abbreviation for It Is. So therefore, "it's a sad day when Qatar wins the world cup"

Its is ownership - "The boat sailed with all its crew".

[Bathsheba]

Feel free to jump in and answer anyone else's questions if you know it!

It's and its sometimes confuses me as well. I generally pop in an apostrophy (') if it is an abbreviation but I think in this case there is an exception.

Sorry to disappoint you PZ hehe but like I said, I'm no expert... my DH corrects me quite frequently. I've just got a bit of a "thing" about the correct usage of there/they're/their at the moment LOL

ETA: thanks Kazbah!

[Lisa]

LOL Ok I REALLY don't want to come across as some kind of grammar/spelling expert because i am NOT! But... (and please correct me if i am wrong!)

Where is usually a question or reference to a place. "Where is my chocolate!?" "I can't remember where I put it".

Were is almost always about something that happened in the past. "We were so angry when we found out that somebody had eaten our chocolate".

And there is also We're. "We're all looking for the missing chocolate"

[Bathsheba]

(We're) yes! good point Lisa!

[LimeSlice]

Don't forget Your and You're

*sits patiently in front of Bath for a grammar lesson*

But I agree, it's good to know the difference.

You mean "your" and "you're" - neither are proper nouns ;p


The ones that tick me off:
"I seen" - no, you didn't "seen" you "saw". If you are talking about something that happened in the distant past then you "have seen".
and the other classic:
"Them ones" - uh, no, you mean "those" ones or maybe "these" ones?

[ShootingStar]

Ah yes that bugs me when people dont get it right.

The way i remember the Where/Were one is Where has the H after the W and can go in a sentence of "Where Have".. if that makes sense..

[Bathsheba]

It's a fine line though.... nearly all of us break grammatical rules of English to avoid sounding like a prat LOL

For example... most of us don't use the word "whom" we just use "who" instead even though "who" is meant to be reserved for a question. Most of us would say "who were you referring to?" instead "of whom were you referring?"

[~Trish~]

I am anal about spelling correctly, must be the Aspy in me . I am learning to let it go when I read other people putting words in the wrong context haha! At least people are giving it a go, but I love threads like this, especially because it features chocolate - now you're talking my language .

[LimeSlice]

It's a fine line though.... nearly all of us break grammatical rules of English to avoid sounding like a prat LOL

For example... most of us don't use the word "whom" we just use "who" instead even though "who" is meant to be reserved for a question. Most of us would say "who were you refering to?" instead "of whom were you refering?"

Ending sentences with prepositions! There are only a few that really drive me batty, "but" being a major one.
"Claire's dancing was good but." ARGH! Seriously want to scream every time.

[Glamourcide]

I love you, Lime

[Phteven]

It's a fine line though.... nearly all of us break grammatical rules of English to avoid sounding like a prat LOL

For example... most of us don't use the word "whom" we just use "who" instead even though "who" is meant to be reserved for a question. Most of us would say "who were you refering to?" instead "of whom were you refering?"

Actually who = subject and whom = object as in "who had sex with whom?"
Simple way to remember - if you can substitute s/he it is who and if you can substitute him/her it is whom - "she had sex with him?"

[*Ali*]

I have a real thing about when people don't use capital letters for name, I get really cross when I see TV shows/ movie credits or labels with peoples names and no capital letter.