Their / There / They're
| Word |
Use |
Example |
| Their |
Possessive |
This is their house. |
| There |
Place, or "there is/are" |
There is a car there. |
| They're |
Contraction of "they are" |
They're happy. |
Trick: if you can replace it with "they are" in the sentence, it's they're. If you can replace it with "his/her/its" (their house → its house), it's their.
Your / You're
| Word |
Use |
Example |
| Your |
Possessive |
Is this your bag? |
| You're |
Contraction of "you are" |
You're right. |
Its / It's
| Word |
Use |
Example |
| Its |
Possessive (for an object/animal) |
The dog wagged its tail. |
| It's |
Contraction of "it is" or "it has" |
It's raining. |
Unlike most English possessives, "its" never takes an apostrophe — the apostrophe in "it's" always marks a contraction, never possession.
Other common pairs
| Words |
Difference |
| To / Too / Two |
direction/infinitive · also/excessively · the number 2 |
| Then / Than |
sequence, at that time · comparison |
| Affect / Effect |
verb (to influence) · noun (the result), in most cases |
| Whose / Who's |
possessive · contraction of "who is" |
Weather / Whether
| Word |
Use |
Example |
| Weather |
The climate/conditions |
The weather is nice today. |
| Whether |
"If" (in an alternative) |
I don't know whether she'll come. |
Accept / Except
| Word |
Use |
Example |
| Accept |
To accept (verb) |
I accept your offer. |
| Except |
Excluding, apart from |
Everyone came except Tom. |
Stationary / Stationery
| Word |
Use |
| Stationary |
Not moving, fixed |
| Stationery |
Paper and office supplies |
Mnemonic: "stationEry" has an "e" like "papEr" — a handy way to remember it's the paper-goods one, not the standing-still one.
Complement / Compliment
| Word |
Use |
Example |
| Complement |
Completes, goes well with |
This wine complements the meal. |
| Compliment |
A compliment, to flatter |
She gave me a nice compliment. |
#Grammar
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