Their vs There vs They're

These three words seem to be the hardest homophones to distinguish from each other, especially on social media. This is the one that is super obvious when you get it wrong and makes you look unprofessional.

• Their is the possessive form of they, so it means that whatever you are talking about belongs to them.

Example: Their door is always locked and I’m beginning to think they don’t like me.

• There is often about location, tangible or not.

Examples: Leave the key there, under the mat. There you go, now I can let myself in.

• There can also be used as the first word of a sentence or question.

Example: There is a back way in? There is not much light in the back garden.

• The trickiest one is they’re but it always means ‘they are’. It can be used for living and non-living things.

Examples: They’re an odd couple but don’t be scared, they’ve both written books. They’re really good books about cute puppies.