ACT English: Master Their, There, and They're Distinctions

Their: possessive adjective meaning "belonging to them." Example: "Their books are on the shelf." There: adverb meaning "in that place" or used with "is/are" in "there is/are" constructions. Example: "The books are there" or "There are five books." They're: contraction of "they are." Example: "They're studying hard." Each word has one clear meaning and one correct usage; memorizing the three meanings eliminates this error forever.

Memory trick: (1) their = possessive = ends with "their" just as "my" ends "their"; (2) there = location = has "here" in it, both place words; (3) they're = "they are" = has apostrophe like a contraction. These associations stick after one review.

Error 1: "The students finished they're homework." Should be "their homework" (possessive). Error 2: "There house is big." Should be "Their house is big" (possessive). Error 3: "The data shows there is a correlation." Correct as written (location/existential "there"). On ACT English, if a sentence has one of these homophones, pause and verify it's the right one by asking: Is this possessive? Location? Or a contraction?

This pause takes 5 seconds but catches errors immediately. Train yourself to pause whenever you see their/there/they're on the actual test.

(1) "The children left there toys outside." (2) "There going to finish there project." (3) "The papers are there on the desk." (4) "They're ideas were brilliant." (5) "There are many reasons for their success." Fix each sentence and identify which word belongs. Answers: (1) their, (2) They're...their, (3) correct, (4) Their, (5) correct.

If you corrected all five, you've mastered this skill. If you missed any, drill the incorrect ones five more times until they feel automatic.

Their/there/they're errors appear regularly on ACT English and are among the easiest to fix once you understand the rule. This single skill eliminates 1-2 careless errors per test, adding points to your English score with minimal effort.

Spend 10 minutes memorizing the three meanings today. By test day, you'll automatically spot and correct these errors, gaining free points.