Introduction

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Writing Tips:  September, 2008

Helps for Choosing "Their," "There," and "They're" Correctly

The secret for choosing among "their," "there," and "they're" is to pause long enough to make a deliberate choice--and to keep the information offered below in mind.

First, the spelling "they're" is simply a contraction for the two words "they are."  [A rule of thumb for most contractions is to write the first word out in full--here, "they."  You then add the apostrophe ('),  Lastly, you add the shortened (contracted) lettering for the contracted word--here "re."]

Examples

Jen and Louise are good friends; they're (they are) classmates.

Where is everyone tonight?  They're (they are) at the movies.

When the brothers get together on weekends, they're (they are) playing either basketball, volleyball, tennis, or football.

Second, the word "there"--which often means "over there, yonder"--is spelled like "here," its (near) antonym.  (It even contains the spelling of "here" inside it.)

Examples

Put the glassware over there (yonder).

They refuse to come here; we must go there (yonder).

Look there [pointing], under the chair.

Note that the word "there" has a second use in English--namely: to fill the (grammatical) space of the subject of a sentence or clause until the true subject comes along; it is a "space-filler" for the (true) subject.

Examples

There is no excuse for rudeness.  [No excuse for rudeness exists.]

There are three especially valuable knots.  [Three especially valuable knots exist.]

Lastly,  "their" is the spelling that you use all the rest of the time.  It stands for--that is, replaces--the prepositional phrase "of them" and is always in an adjective's position--that is, before a noun (as in "their opinion").  (Notice that its inner spelling "ei" is typical of words that have a long "A" sound--here before an "R"--such as, "heir" and "weigh.")

Examples

They do not remember where they left their car (the car of them).

Angry bees sometimes leave their stingers in their foes.

Commentary

You can always use a process of elimination to come to the right spelling for these words.  You must care enough, and you must take time enough, to think through the choices and their meanings.

Copyright ©  Anthony D. Hunter 2002

How to Find a Dictionary Word in Ten Seconds
or Less 

This tip applies not only to using a dictionary but also to finding information in any alphabetically arranged listing whose author/publisher also provides guide words--the words at the top of the page that inform you of the first--and usually last--word on that page.

There are three secrets to finding a target word in ten seconds or less.  The first is to open your dictionary correctly.  You never open it at random, nor do you just use the thumb index as a matter of course.  First, you guesstimate the approximate thickness of the book (or proportion of space between thumb index spots) that you must bypass in order to bring you most nearly to your target word--of course, this guesstimate will be the closer the more familiar you are with your dictionary and/or the more thumb-worn its pages are.

The second secret is to train yourself to look only at guide words--never at an inside word--until you have found exactly the page your target word is on.

The third secret is to keep guesstimating the thickness of the number of pages you must now skip--in whichever direction--to most quickly reach your target word.

If your target word were "brash," you would pick a spot somewhere between the thumb indexes "A/B" and "C/D."  In my Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, I have arrived at the top left-handmost word "churlish."  I jump back a bunch of pages (maybe 60) and come to the guide word "bronze"--the top, left-handmost guide word as before.   Going back some more, I come to "boom"--I have gone too far.  Now, because I am so close, I skip much fewer pages at a time and go forward.  Going ahead approximately four pages, I come to "brazilwood."  Going back one page, I find myself on just the right page.  The guide words tell me that "brash" must be on the right-hand page.  Running my eye to the half-way point of the left column, I chance to read "brash" as the first word that I set my eyes on.  I chose that point because the guide words were "branchiopod" and "Brazil nut"; my reasoning was that it must be in the first column but part-way down.  (This word has six meanings in my dictionary; you would have to judge for yourself whether it is the right word for your use [or which of its meanings fits the context in which you found it].)

Commentary

You may think that this is too much effort.  I would argue that if you knew that it would only take a sprinkling of seconds to find a word, you would use your dictionary a great deal more frequently--to your profit.

Copyright ©  Anthony D. Hunter 2002