There're?

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   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   I don't think I've ever used this contraction. Is it a real word?

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      Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      To some it may seem real. But not so with others.                                 Therefore, I use 'They're'.                                    Certain editing tools like grammarly, the writing tool, gives 'they're' in place of 'there're'. Except one write it in full, as 'there are'.

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         theraggededgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         'They're' is not the same as 'there're'. They mean different things.
         
         'They are' is a pronoun followed by the present tense of 'to be'. "They are (they're) running away".
         
         'There are' is an adverb followed by the present tense of 'to be'. "There are (there're) the letters we were expecting".

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         1. 83

            Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Bev, I agree with you. But that seems to depend on the tune.

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      theraggededgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Yep. It's fine. 'There are'. "There're so many contractions".
      
      Also 'there'd', 'there'll'. There had (been); there will (be).
      
      If 'there's' (there is) is acceptable, then all the tenses and singular/plural versions are too.

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   3. 83

      SerenityHaloposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Here are my two cents from the linguistics classes I took back in the day.
      
      "There're" is a colloquial contraction. I wouldn't use it. Some people might say "there are" quickly, others will be dumbfounded by it as it's not how their regional accent works. For me, I'm pronouncing it as "there-error." It is not pleasing to my ears.
      
      It's not listed in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary or Cambridge English Dictionary, so it's not recognized as a valid word.
      
      "Th" is also one of the final sounds you master in English. There are a lot of subtleties to all our "th" words that children tend to control around the age of 3.
      
      For example, consider how all the "th" words sound different: though, there, then, this, things, thrust, thimble, thorn, thanks, throne, threw, thrown, they, thin, thick. Plus, the two different pronunciations for "the" depending on whether the next word starts with a consonant or vowel. If you're a fluent English speaker, you'll take for granted the subtleties that your mouth and tongue make for all those "th" sounds and the different speeds that fit the "th" words.
      
      For second language learners, "th" can be strange since it's not a universal sound group among languages. Just as "r" and "l" are liquids in linguistics and come from a similar place where you speak, so it's easy to accidentally flip "r" and "l" as you become fluent in languages that use those letters.
      
      Essentially, "there're" might really trip people up and confuse them.

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         eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         In Ireland, especially in the region I'm from, we have difficulty pronouncing "th"s. So "this", "that" and "those" become "dis", "dat" and "dose". I actually have to consciously try to get the pronunciation of the "th" right. Must be something to do with the physiology of our mouths. Meanwhile, do Cockneys deliberately leave out their "h"s, e.g. pronouncing "house" as "ouse"?
         
         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5i5sdXiY3Y

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         1. 83

            SerenityHaloposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Ah! I love this old clip of Family Guy. The show was at its best in the early seasons.
            
            YouTube amazingly has a generous amount of videos on the "th" sound. It's wild how much the accents change in the United Kingdom. In Wales, people have a hard time understanding my Midwestern accent.
            
            I do think the Cockney accent has an aversion to the letter "h."
            
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_FtnOTLkSs
            
            Language and enunciations aren't constants. There are actually vowel shift cycles. For instance, Shakespeare should sound more like the American or Australian accent as opposed to the posh way most people have heard it.
            
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQc5ZpAoU4c
            
            Language is an odd thing because you can put words together in a logical way, but what once was logical could grow out of popularity. I doubt the word "whom" is going to last forever. People understand you perfectly fine if you use "who" in place of "whom."
            
            Historical linguists are amazing people. They trace language back like scientists do fossils. Linguistics wasn't my focus in school, but I had to take 3-4 grad classes in it for my master's. I often left the historical linguistics class with a headache, and those who were specializing in it thought the subject matter was too much for a one-semester class.
            
            I admire people who go to extra lengths to study languages on a quantum level, but I think if I had pursued something like that I would have gone insane.

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2. 64

   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   Hmm. I don't think I've ever uttered such a word until today. It slightly irritates me when on my Facebook group, people mix up "their", "there" and "they're" and I think about reporting them to the grammar police. Now there's another similar sounding word to add to the list.

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      theraggededgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I bet you have. You might think you are saying 'there are', but speech holds natural contractions. Just say it quickly, "Look! There are three trains waiting". It comes out like 'there-a three trains...'.

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         eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         That's true, I've probably seen it written down too, but haven't realised it

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3. 67

   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   It's not one I'd generally use, even though it's good.
   
   I like double contractions like "they'd've"

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      Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Count me out. I wouldn't said or write that. I would regret it.                                       While walking, and hinting my 6 years old girl through her math home work, she resent the path I took, because in her words, 'I'm not taught that way'. Whose counting me in anyway?

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4. 86

   jansharesposted 2 years ago

   I've never seen that word, although it is "correct." It just looks awkward and rolls off the tongue awkwardly. I'd never use it in writing, would just write it out. But Bev raises a good point that we've probably used it in speech without thinking about it.

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5. 67

   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   I always find that contractions can be hard work when there's a lot of them. It's even worse when the writer's using them to try and convey a dialect. I think of novels like Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, which is a truly wonderful book, but a pain in the arse to read at times.

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   Kenna McHughposted 2 years ago

   You'll see the use in writing dialogue more than in formal writing.

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      Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Yep. William Shakespeare was a master of the art.

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7. 64

   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   There's also:
   
   Ye're for ye are, the plural of you are.
   Yere for the plural of your.
   
   And maybe y'all're for you all are?

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   1. 83

      Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      This type of writing, I think was not standard, or formal. But very informal.                                       If you're working in an organization, would that gives you a head way? Try writing like that in your articles here on hubpages. Student who did that in they their English test, or exam fail woefully.                                           In my English class, I was told to use only the accept standard form.

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