A Grammar Rule to Consider

It is a pet peeve of mine to see the misuse of words. I am not an English major or anything like that, and I don't claim to never make mistakes, but when I am reading a book or newspaper and come across words that are used with the wrong meaning, it bugs me.

Growing up, I received a fairly good education especially in English and Phonics. The use of Voyages in English consistently through my grade school years gave me an awareness of the use of words that sound similar and/or have a similar meaning - Who & whom, this & that, their & there, here & there, can & will... The list could go on, but I would like to just take this time to expound on the use of the words 'their & there'.

When the words are looked up in a dictionary like Webster's or Thorndike's, or from any online dictionary, many examples are given of these words used in sentences which makes it easier to see and understand the proper meaning.

I will give just a few examples of these two words used correctly so you can easily see the difference in the meaning of each of the words. The word ‘their' is listed as a pronoun and an adjective.

Ex 1 Their house is around the corner. Pronoun

Ex 2 Everyone needs to bring their own lunch. Adjective

The word ‘there' is listed as a noun, pronoun, adjective and adverb.

Ex 1 We can study together for an hour, but after that you are on your own from there. Noun

Ex 2 There is no such luck. Pronoun

Ex 3 I'm not sure, but that lady there can tell you. Adjective

Ex 4 Please stand over there. Adverb

Hopefully this gives a clear enough explanation of these two words. If in doubt, check it out!! Reasonably priced editions of dictionaries and/or Voyages in English can be bought at local used bookstores, online or even book sales at your local libraries.