A Big Exception

A Big Exception
There are some exceptions, but the most common is when “there” is used this way: “There will be cake at the party” or “There is a misunderstanding.” In that instance, “there” is a pronoun. Just remember that “their” should never be followed by a verb. Because “their” is a possessive pronoun, it should be followed by a noun (“their pets,” “their time”).It may also help to remember that because “their” is possessive, it should “own” something--a thing is a noun, so “their” should be followed by a noun. Need some help with pronouns and nouns?
They’re“They’re” should be easy to distinguish from the other two due to the contraction rule; remember, the apostrophe indicates something is missing, so you should separate the contraction into its separate words to figure out if the correct word is being used. See this example:
• They’re being loud.
• They are being loud.We know “they’re” is used correctly here because we can substitute the two words that make the contraction, and it still sounds fine. You can see how it indicates that it’s incorrect if we use two of the earlier examples:
• Place your forms they’re.
• Place your forms they are.
• They’re name is hard to pronounce.
• They are name is hard to pronounce.
By writing out “they are,” it is easier to see that “they’re” is used incorrectly in both of these sentences.Recognizing Problems on Your Own
You’ll find that when you continually correct these kinds of errors, you will get better at recognizing them. Soon, the correct form will be second nature to you. Sometimes all a person needs is a simple hint to help her correct her own errors. Being aware of common mistakes is a good place to start down that path.