The Grammar Police: There, Their Now!
With this in mind, I offer a brief lesson on common spelling errors I often see on these pages.
"Their" and "there" are often used incorrectly, and let's not forget about "they're." "Their" is also often misspelled "thier."
Remember which spelling to use with these hints:
Notice that "their" includes the word "heir" which will remind you of the correct spelling and that the word has to do with possession.
Example: The children are enjoying their ice cream.
"There" includes the word "here," meaning a place.
Example: I went to a movie and left my coat there.
"They're" is a contraction of "they are."
Example: They're (they are) tearing down the old movie theater.
When you're not sure whether "they're" is correct, read the sentence using "they are" and see if it makes sense. If not, follow the rules for the other spellings to determine which is appropriate for your sentence.
Another common error is the misuse of it's and its.
"Its" is a possessive pronoun, used in the place of a possessive noun. You don't use an apostrophe with the possessive in this case, any more than you would write her's or their's. I hope not, anyway. If you do, it's wrong! Don't make me go there...
Example: My dog is eating its food."
"It's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has."
Examples: It's (it is) raining outside. It's (it has) rained since early this morning.
If you're confused about which form to use, replace the "it's" in your sentence with "it is" or "it has." Does the sentence still make sense? If not, leave out the apostrophe.
Published by Jill Davidson
Ms. Davidson is self-employed as a secondhand merchant, crafter, and free-lance writer. View profile
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13 Comments
Post a CommentBravo! Great work. I hope every single CP reads this article.
I always notice these things
I see these mistakes a lot and know better than to make them but sometimes just get too caught up in the moment of writing and forget to double check my work ... and then sometimes no matter how many times I proof something I still miss a gotcha :D
Good grammar info for common writing errors! Thanks!
Shows us how well our articles are looked at when we submit them. I am happy also to submit articles when I do however the grammar is a bugaboo for me and admit the occasional slip as well. Good article to help all of us out.
good lesson teacher
I agree with you 100%. Although I'm not a perfect speller, but I do feel that spelling and grammar mistakes "turn people off." That was a good lesson. Keep it up.
Very good job here, and a real good learning tip today. We are all imperfect so this is very helpful to many.
I see the mistakes and make the mistakes as well!! Plaese correct my mistakes as you come across those.......................
Good, common sensical advice. Spellcheck does not correct for grammatical or syntactic flubs. This takes an editorial eye. I pride myself on sound sentence structure, good spelling, correct punctuation, and proper syntax. However, proofreading is not foolproofreading, so... And it is a bit annoying to see an otherwise well written article blemished by simple mistakes that could be easily corrected.