Main Difference – Their vs There

Their and there are homophones, and many English learners make the mistake of misspelling these two words. Yet, they cannot be interchanged in any circumstances as they are completely different. The main difference between their and there is that their is a possessive adjective whereas there is an adverb. The functions of these two words are vastly different according to these grammatical categories.

Their – Meaning and Usage

Their is a possessive adjective. It corresponds to the third person plural pronoun, they. It is used in front of a noun to indicate possession or ownership. It indicates that the object, idea or even person indicated by the noun belongs to someone. The following sentences show the correct usage of the possessive determiner their.

Their house is situated on top of a hill.

Miriam and Nelly cut their vacation short and returned home.

I saw their car in front of the police station.

They all expressed their grief, but none volunteered to help.

If someone wants to object, all they have to do is raise their hands.

Her parents thought that their little girl was an angel.

They went out in their new car.

There – Meaning and Usage

There is an adverb. It mostly refers to a place and often has meanings like ‘in that place’, ‘at that place’, ‘to that place’. For example,

We went to Luxemburg and stayed there for ten days.

She didn’t want to go in there because it was too cold.

He insisted on staying there, but there was no electricity or water.

Soon as we heard the news, we went there.

There can also be used at the beginning of a sentence to indicate the existence of something.

There are some issues with this plan.

There is only one restaurant in the town.

There are many unemployed men in this area.

There can also be used as an exclamation. In this sense, it is used to grab the attention of the listeners or to calm or comfort someone.

There, it’s all solved.

There, there, the pain will soon go away.

There, I told you everything will be alright.

She is hiding there.

Difference Between Their and There

Grammatical Category

Their is a possessive adjective.

There is an adverb.

Function

Their indicates possession or ownership.

There can indicate a place, refer to the existence of something or serve as an exclamation.

Now that you know the difference between their and there, try to identify the grammatically correct sentences from the following sentences.

First, third, fourth and eighth sentences use the words their and there correctly, But their and there are interchanged in rest of the sentences; they are grammatically inaccurate. 

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