Jane's Book of Grammar (And Other Things)

Commonly Mixed up Words [1]

I've seen many writers do this, even ones with stories that have millions of reads. Do not fear, this is easy to fix and makes you look so much more professional, regardless of the number of reads you have. (In other words, if you have several million and don't know the difference between 'there' and 'their', it still looks silly). Let's get right to it.

Commonly mixed up words:

There || Their || They're

"There they are, next to the tree!"

There is about location. It's to direct someone to a certain place.

"Their skills were as high as the Mariana Trench."

Their is a word to show that 'they' own something. This is my house. This house is mine. That is their house. That house is theirs.

"They're so ugly."

They is either something with unknown gender (also known as 'it'), or a group of two or more people or things. They're is simply the contraction of 'they are', shortened because English people are lazy.

Where || Were || We're

"Where have you been?"

Where is about location. Often it's used in a question, to ask in what place they have been.

"They were all exhausted by the time they came back."

Were is the past tense of 'to be'. It's the plural version of 'was' - hence the 'they were' instead of 'he were'.

Who's || Whose

"Who's that?"

Who's is the contraction of 'who is'.

"Whose bag is this?"

Whose is a word to show that one doesn't know who a certain thing belongs to. My house. The house is mine. Whose house? Whose house is it?

You're || Your

"You're being silly."

You're is the contraction of 'you are'.

"Your fish died."

Your is a word to show that 'you' owns something. My house. The house is mine. Your house. The house is yours.

We'll || Well

"We'll need all the help we can get."

We'll is the contraction of 'we will'.

"Get some water from the well."

Well is both a word people say when they aren't sure what to say, or a deep pit that has water in it. Wells are often made out of stone.

It's || Its [5]

"It's a lost cause."

It's is the contraction of 'it is'.

"Its tail flicked in surprise."

Its is a word to show that something belongs to an unknown or genderless entity. My house. The house is mine. Its house. The house belongs to it. 

Then || Than

"We had some hamburgers. Then we ate ice cream."