Proper language in both writing and verbal has become crucial nowadays because our language skills are what make up our image next to our appearance and body language.
In such regards, one of the most commonly used words in both our writing and verbal responses are there and their.
Though both appear to be similar, they have profound differences in real. This property of these two words with similar pronunciation and different meanings is what we call โHomophonesโ.
Homophones are confusing to hear, but it is one of the essential vocabulary portions one needs to understand to use the English language more elegantly.
Key Takeaways
- โThereโ is an adverb indicating a specific location or position and a pronoun introducing a subject or noun in a sentence.
- โTheirโ is a possessive pronoun used to indicate that something belongs to or is associated with a group of people previously mentioned or implied.
- The primary difference between โthereโ and โtheirโ is their grammatical function, with โthereโ denoting a location or introducing a subject, while โtheirโ signifies possession or association with a group.
There vs Their
โTheirโ is the possessive pronoun, which means belonging to them. She, for instance, envy their pricey shoes. It is also used as a replacement for his or her. While โthereโ, when used as an adjective, denotes that location (in or to). For instance, itโs very cold there, therefore I donโt want to go.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | There | Their |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical nomenclature | Adverb or Adjective | Possessive pronoun |
| Grammar number | Mostly singular | Mostly plural except when the subjectโs identity or gender is unknown. |
| Grammatical usage | It used to point to a place that is already known. | Used to indicate the ownership of an object by a subject. |
| Pronoun usage | Used to introduce clause or sentence | Used to introduce a subject who owns the object. |
| Examples | My friend will beย thereย soon. | It is their dog. |
What is the Meaning of There?
โThereโ, is an adverb with a meaning pointing towards a place. In some instances, it can also be used as a pronoun for introducing a clause or sentence.
It is most of the time used primly to stop the unnecessary repetitions of the mentioned noun.
โThereโ, when used as a pronoun, is a little bit hard to understand.โThereโ is often used to quickly start a sentence and define an already existing or happened thing.
Informal speech patterns can also employ โThereโ as an essential part of their structure for conveying the meaning of the sentence for which it is used.
Some examples of usage of โThereโ are,
- I love Spain. I goย thereย (to Spain) every year.ย
In the above example, here, the word โthereโ is used to indicate Spain when the preceding sentence, which is used, already defines the nature of Spain. This usage aids in preventing an unnecessary repetition of a name in sentences that will otherwise be annoying.
- Donโt go downย there, John. (It is assumed that John knows whereย thereย is).
For this example, the word โtheirโโ is used to imply a place to a subject, which the person already knows. This type of usage will be helpful, especially when the place of interest in the scene cannot be named easily but can be pointed to convey the meaning.
- Jack pausedย thereย to let him reply. (referring to a moment in time in the scene)
To convey the meaning that Jack stopped talking at a pointed instance time during a conversation to someone for the other person to reply. โThereโ can also be used like this to point to a time.
- Thereย is no way for a setback. (replacing a noun)
โThereโ is used as replacing noun to start a sentence or to introduce a clause. This makes the expressed meaning easy to understand
What is the Meaning of Their?
โTheirโ is a possessive pronoun of the subject. It is most often used to indicate the ownership or claim of a person over a subject.
It means when there is a need to explain the ownership of an object to more than one person, it is wise to use โtheirโ in the sentence, which will make the sentence look simple and easily understandable.
In most instances, โtheirโ is used to indicate the ownership of a plural subject, but with some exceptions, especially when the subjectโs identity or gender is a mystery.ย
Some examples of usage of โTheirโ are,
- They leftย theirย wallet at home.ย
In this example, โtheirโ is used to claim the ownership of the wallet to the persons on the scene that left it at home. The persons implied here are plural, as shown by the noun(they).
- Someone leftย theirย backpack on the table.
ย Here, the usage of โtheirโ is made so that the ownership of the object on the table is unknown, but to point to the object and express the ownership of the object, the word โtheirโ is used.ย
- Someoneย parkedย theirย bicycle in a towing zone.ย
Someone parkedย his or herย bicycle in a towing zone.
Consider the above two-sentence; if the personโs gender is unknown, we can use both of the above-mentioned sentences. But using โtheirโ makes the sentence sounds more pleasant than his or her and is easy to use in verbal and written language.
Main Differences Between There and Their
- โThereโ is an adjective or adverb, noun, pronoun, adjective, or interjection in grammar. โTheirโ is a possessive pronoun.
- โThereโ can be used to indicate a place, time, matter, or point in a process. โTheirโ can be used to imply the ownership of an object by a person.
- โThereโ is used to indicate a singular noun. โTheirโ is used to point to the plural noun almost always, except when the gender and identity of the owner are unknown.
- โThereโ is used to indicate the things which are already described and to prevent the unnecessary repetition of the names of the subject. โTheirโ is used to indicate the ownership of an object which may or may not be already described in the conversation.
- โThereโ can sometimes be used in place of a noun. โTheirโ will always be used before a noun and not be used without another noun.
- https://www.lexico.com/definition/there
- https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/their
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
