Ghetto Grammar: THEY'RE going to take THEIR dog to the park over THERE.

Welcome to the second installment of Ghetto Grammar. I dropped the ball in January. Things were a little busy. That is no excuse, however, to forgo sharing with the world the importance of good grammar.

In this month's episode, we'll be discussing the different uses of THERE, THEIR, and THEY'RE.

Before I begin, I'd like to mention that I cover this very grammar lesson with my cherubs in school. Second graders. SECOND GRADERS. If they can comprehend the differences, please, I beg you, take the time to use the correct THERE, THEIR, or THEY'RE when updating your Facebook statuses. Thank you and Amen.

Now, THERE, THEIR, and THEY'RE are part of the Nym family. Synonyms are words that have a similar meaning: slimy and gooey. Antonyms are words that mean the opposite: big and small. Homonyms, also referred to as homophones, are words that sound the same, however, they are spelled differently and have different meanings. Emphasis on DIFFERENT MEANINGS. They are not interchangeable.

Let's begin with THERE.

If you remove the "T", what word do you have? You should have HERE. If you don't, you've removed the T from a random word, and I can no longer help you. To those of you who did it correctly, you have a word that refers to a location. "Here is the pen I was looking for." The same goes for THERE. It refers to a location, both concrete and abstract.

"The Grammar Nazi lives over there."

"There is a Starbucks around the next corner."

"I don't want to go there for Spring Break."

THERE is also partnered with the verb BE to indicate the existence of something.

"There is a great selection of movies showing in theaters right now."  True statement, folks.

THEIR

THEIR is possessive. It indicates that something belongs to someone.

"Their dog always poops in our yard."

"We're going to their house for the Super Bowl."

I always tell my kiddos to take a special notice of the letter 'i' in their. Then I say, "I am a person. So, THEIR with an 'i' is referring to a person or people."

THEY'RE

THEY'RE is a contraction of the words they and are.

"They're (They are) coming over for dinner tonight."

"I don't know if they're (they are) meeting us here or at the restaurant."

Summary

There = location
Their = ownership
They're = they are

When using THERE, if you can replace it with HERE, you're good.

When using THEIR, if you can replace it with MY or OUR, you're good.

When using THEY'RE, if you can replace it with THEY ARE, you're good.

So, THERE you go, folks.

Take it, or leave it over THERE, people.

Hoping the Ravens take the Lombardi Trophy to THEIR hometown, because, in my opinion, THEY'RE more deserving,

Good Grammar Barbie