Over the years I have found that having a gimmick to remember things works well for me. I’d like to share some of them to help you choose the right form of these four sets of words that cause many people grief.
- their, they’re, there
- your, you’re
- its, it’s
- lets, let’s
First the three kinds of their/there/they’re.
They’re = they are. We use they’re when we mean the short way of saying “they are.”
They’re my best friends.
They’re is correct because you could say, “They are” in place of “they’re.”
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Their = owning something
That is their new red car.
This word is often misspelled, so remember that it has the word “the“ at the beginning (THEir).
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There = Not here, but over there, farther away. The word “there” has “here” in it.
If you think of it as “not here,” you will always remember how to spell there and which one is the correct form of “there/they’re/their.
There is a plant in the pot.
The plant is over there, in the pot.
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You’re = you are
You’re the one for me. Use you’re if you can replace the word with you are.
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Your = ownership. Think of our (belongs to us), and so your (which has “our” in it) belongs to you.
Your mother loves you.
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It’s = it is
If you can replace it’s with it is, then you have the correct form of its/it’s.
It’s a beautiful day.
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Its – belonging to “it”
The car stood with its door open. (The door belongs to the car.)
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Let’s = let us (the apostrophe takes the place of the letter “u.”
Let’s go to the dance.
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Lets – allows
I’ll come if my mom lets me.
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Let’s hope that this post helps make life easier for you and lets you write with more confidence.
It’s easy to see its benefits once you start using the correct words.
You’re going to feel your confidence boosted.
Your friends over there will be proud to know that they’re going to have a good writer as their friend.
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