ThereTheir.com - Don't Write Like an Idiot

You may not notice it yourself, but if you don't know the difference between YOUR and YOU'RE, you come across as an idiot whenever you use them. They are not interchangeable, and neither are THERE, THEIR, and THEY'RE, nor any of the examples explained below. As more and more communication takes place online and in writing, through chat, email and messaging, certain common misspellings of words and contractions have become dangerously frequent, reinforcing their repeated misuse. This page doesn't aspire to make you a decent writer, or even a competent speller. It only seeks to keep you from making an ass of yourself.

INDEX

accept ≠ except
affect ≠ effect
its ≠ it's
know ≠ no ≠ now
nouns ≠ noun’s
our ≠ are
there ≠ their ≠ they're
too ≠ to ≠ two
where ≠ we’re ≠ were
who’s ≠ whose
your ≠ you're

YOUR ≠ YOU'RE

YOUR = possessive; belonging to you. Always followed by a noun or noun phrase.

YOU'RE = a contraction of 'you' and 'are.' Can be used whenever 'you are' would work.

Example: "Your car is faster than mine, but you're still not going to win this race."

ITS ≠ IT'S

ITS = possessive; belonging to it. Always followed by a noun or noun phrase.

IT'S = a contraction of 'it' and 'is.' Can be used whenever 'it is' would work.

ITS' = mistake.

Example: "Its teeth are quite large, but it's actually very friendly."

THERE ≠ THEIR ≠ THEY'RE

THERE = indicates a location, as in the phrase "over there."

THEIR = possessive; belonging to them. Always followed by a noun or noun phrase.

THEY'RE = a contraction of 'they' and 'are.' Can be used whenever 'they are' would work.

Example: "They left their XBox over there by the TV, but they're coming to get it tomorrow."

*NEW* ACCEPT ≠ EXCEPT *NEW*

Do you believe these words mean essentially the same thing? Then, if our new bill makes it through Congress (and we're quite sure that God wants it to), you will be forcibly sterilized.

ACCEPT = to receive something with approval, or to admit into a group.

EXCEPT = excluding, or 'if it were not for the fact that.'

Example: "We will accept all countries into the coalition, except for the Dutch."

EXTRA REMEDIAL

NOUNS ≠ NOUN'S

It has come to our attention that some people don't realize that plurals do not require an apostrophe (or that the apostrophe actually stops them from being plurals and makes them into possessives). Please be assured that this mistake really, really makes you look like an idiot. For the love of all things holy, please stop making it immediately. Here's your remedial education:

NOUNS = the plural of 'noun'. Most nouns are made plural with an S or ES.

NOUN'S = possessive; belonging to noun.

Example: "The noun's modifier, in this case an adjective, separated it from the other nouns in the sentence."

Example 2 (using 'friend' as the noun): "Her friend's friends aren't friendly."

WHO'S ≠ WHOSE

It has been a while since the last ThereTheir update, but this often seen abomination was enough to bring the editors lurching back from their premature retirement. Notable as an error that self-professed 'grammar buffs' frequently make, mistaking these two words for one another is more than adequate cause for social ostracism.

WHO'S = a contraction of 'who' and 'is' or 'who' and 'has.'

WHOSE = possessive form of 'who.'

Example: "Who's the journalist whose article you're reading?"

EXTRA REMEDIAL

KNOW ≠ NO ≠ NOW

Requested by a reader, I think most of us can understand how an illiterate might confuse homonyms such as 'know' and 'no,' but the addition of the word 'now' to this list must surely be considered a stake in the heart of Western civilization.

KNOW = to have knowledge of

NO = the opposite of yes

NOW = at the present time

Example: "Now I know that no means no."

EXTRA REMEDIAL

TOO ≠ TO ≠ TWO

It's a sad day when explaining the differences between these words becomes necessary, but that day appears to have come. Another reader request, this one brought tears of incredulity to the eyes of the ThereTheir staff.

TOO = also

TO = in a direction, toward

TWO = 2

Example: "Oh yeah? Well I've been to Iceland two times too!"

EXTRA REMEDIAL

OUR ≠ ARE

Realistically, if you're the sort of person to make this mistake, you probably don't read at all, much less web pages that berate you on your spelling and grammar. But since this mistake actually happens in the world, we at ThereTheir.com feel obligated to address it.

OUR = possessive; belonging to us.

ARE = a present tense form of the verb 'to be.'

Example: "We are our parents' children."

EXTRA REMEDIAL

WHERE ≠ WE'RE ≠ WERE

I think we're all a little shocked that this one could possibly occur. A reader request; the ThereTheir staff was in denial that they'd ever seen this mistake. We will now attempt to confront it head on:

WHERE = at or in what place?

WE'RE = a contraction of 'we' and 'are.'

WERE = past tense of 'are.'

Example: "We're exactly where we were yesterday."

ADVANCED PLACEMENT

AFFECT ≠ EFFECT

A visitor request, and a good one at that. This one is a little more complicated than those above, so bear with me. The first two are the ones most commonly mistaken; in particular, 'effect' is often used when the verb form of 'affect' is actually called for. Affect also has a noun form that you probably will never use if you're reading this, and the same goes for Effect's verb form, but I'll give them anyway.

AFFECT (verb) = to influence or change something.

EFFECT (noun) = a result brought about by some cause or agent.

Example: "The effect of playing Grand Theft Auto on Johnny's violence level was undetectable, but it did significantly affect his intelligence."

AFFECT (noun, less commonly used) = feeling or emotion, as visible in the face.

EFFECT (verb, less commonly used) = to bring about, or produce as a result.

Example: "Although his government had effected great economic prosperity, the Prime Minister's affect remained blank in press conferences."

Contact us with any suggested additions, or links to idiotic sites you think should have an example made of them.