Why do so many people have a problem remembering the difference between there, their & they're?

Answer 1

There, there. They're just not using their brains. =)

Answer 2

I'd guess it's because people say them so often without thinking about the spellings. A preposition, a possessive pronoun, and a pronoun/verb contraction... even all the parts of speech they are seem to start with "p."

I didn't have a good teacher to explain it to me until middle school (fortunately, my dad taught me the difference long before then).

Answer 3

It is because people whose first language is English learn to speak before they learn to spell. When they learn to speak, there, their, and they're is just one word which means different things depending on context. But when they learn to read/write/spell they have to learn that they are infact three different words and three different spellings. That is what makes it hard for them to learn.

People who learn English as a second laguage, myself included, start off by learning to read/spell individual words and then eventually move up to speaking. So to them, they are three different words from the beginning.

That's my theory, hopefully not too much over the top.

Answer 4

All one has to remember is:

- they're: the apostrophe substitutes the missing vowel, in
this case the 'a'. They are.
- there: not HERE , that is, it is in tHERE.
- their: by elimination.. Belonging to them.

There you are. If people use their brains, they're out of the problem.!

Answer 5

It's because people mix things up. The words sound the same- so they're called "homonyms". (or, they just don't use their brains)

Answer 6

Because they don't take the time to think things through. Either that or they just don't care.

Answer 7

My guess is they never paid attention to the spelling of the word in question.

Answer 8

I'd be happy if they could even spell a bit better.

Answer 9

they sound the same