Wordsmith Wednesday: The 3 There’s

Now more than ever, it matters what words you choose to share your brand story. Wordsmith Wednesday is a space for people who love words & creating content that is a joy to read. I’ll be sharing my favorite tips & tricks – and hope you’ll share yours!

The 3 There’s

I’m starting with they’re, their, and there because I’ve been noticing misspellings cropping up lately in people’s emails and social posts. The confusion between these three words probably happens because they sound exactly alike, but they have entirely different meanings (for my fellow geeks out there, these words are called homophones.)

Spell check won’t help you avoid using the wrong one {trust me}. So to avoid future embarrassment, keep these super-simple guidelines in mind (sorry, couldn’t resist the Halloween theme):

They’re is the contraction of two words: “they” + “are.” If you can say “they are” in place of “they’re,” then you are using it correctly.

Example: “They’re going trick-or-treating together.”

Their is a possessive pronoun. This means when you want to show that someone owns something, use the word “their.”

Example: “Their house looks haunted.”

There can be used in multiple ways and often refers to a location that is far away (as opposed to “here,” which refers to someplace close by.) Choose it by default when the other two words aren’t a fit.

Example: “He left his Halloween candy over there.”

Feel free to add your own tips or ask a “wordsmithing” question in the comments!

Photo courtesy of Micheile Henderson on Unsplash