Differences between There and They're
Contents
There vs. They're[edit]
There and they're are English homophones that frequently cause orthographic confusion due to their identical pronunciation in most dialects. Despite the phonetic similarity, the two words perform different grammatical functions. "There" acts as an adverb, a pronoun, or a noun, often indicating location or existence. "They're" is a contraction of the pronoun "they" and the verb "are."
Grammatical functions[edit]
The word "there" has several distinct uses in English syntax. As an adverb of place, it indicates a position away from the speaker, serving as the opposite of "here." For example, a speaker might say, "The keys are sitting there on the table." In this context, "there" functions as a locative adverb.[1]
"There" also serves as an expletive or "dummy subject" in existential sentences. In the sentence "There is a storm approaching," the word does not refer to a specific physical location but instead introduces the presence of a noun. This construction is a standard feature of English grammar used to assert the existence of an object or idea.[2]
Conversely, "they're" is a purely functional contraction. It follows the standard English rules for omissive apostrophes, where the apostrophe replaces the letter "a" in "are." It is used exclusively as a shortened form of the plural subject "they" and the linking verb "are." Because it contains a verb, "they're" can often serve as the subject and predicate of a clause, such as in the sentence "They're arriving at noon."[3]
Comparison Table[edit]
| Feature | There | They're |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | Adverb, pronoun, or noun | Contraction (pronoun + verb) |
| Primary meaning | At that place; exists | They are |
| Etymology | Old English þær | Middle English þei + are |
| Substitution test | Replace with "here" (for place) | Replace with "they are" |
| Function | Indicates location or introduces a subject | Describes an action or state of a group |
| Example | Put the box over there. | They're going to the store. |
| Common confusion | Often swapped for "their" or "they're" | Often swapped for "there" or "their" |
Linguistic origin and confusion[edit]
The confusion between these terms is primarily a matter of spelling rather than speech. Linguists categorize these words, along with "their" (a possessive adjective), as a homophone triad. Errors in writing often occur during rapid composition when the writer relies on phonetic retrieval rather than grammatical analysis. In educational settings, the "substitution test" is a common method used to differentiate the two. If "they are" can be substituted into a sentence without a loss of meaning, "they're" is the correct choice. If the sentence requires a location or an existential marker, "there" is used.[4]
Historical records indicate that "there" is the older of the two terms, tracing back to Germanic roots. The contraction "they're" became more prevalent as English orthography standardized and the use of the apostrophe to indicate elided letters became a convention in the 16th and 17th centuries.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ "There vs. Their vs. They're." Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "there, adv., pron., and n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2023.
- ↑ The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. University of Chicago Press, 2017.
- ↑ Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2003.
