Difference between There and Their in English Grammar
There and their, are two words which sound similar but have lot of differences between them. Their usages are different and even though, sound similar. These types of word that sound similar but are different are called homonyms. The pronunciation of these two different words is able to flummox many and give way to errors.
The word ‘there’ is a pronoun. It indicates a place of the subject. For instance, I have reached there, don’t call me now. So, it is clear that ‘there’ denotes the place where the person stands.
The word ‘their’ on the other hand is a pronoun and refers to ‘they’ as in a sentence “The joker tried to amuse the kids sitting into the laps of their parents. The word ‘their’ is in the possessive or genitive case.
‘There’ is also used to express surprise and exclamation. For instance ‘there they are!’ There is used with mostly affirmative sentences
- There are several designer boutiques in New York.
- There is a big Internet connectivity problem in the area.
‘They’ and ‘their’ can be used in the same sentence as well. Such as:
- They know how to handle their parental responsibilities.
- They reached their home and ordered pizza.
There is also used as adjective which is placed directly next to noun. ‘Keep the book there.’ Here, the word ‘there’ is an adjective to book. There has multiple usages as in adverb, pronoun, noun and adjective whereas ‘their’ is just a pronoun.