Fourth Grade English: Common Confusions (Their/There/They're, Its/It's)

Even seasoned adult writers occasionally hesitate before typing words that sound identical but perform completely different grammatical duties. Words like their/there/they're, its/it's, your/you're, and to/too/two are among the most frequently confused words in the English language. In fourth grade, you will learn definitive, foolproof tests for each of these troublesome word clusters so you can write them with total confidence every time.

The Famous Trio: There, Their, and They're

These three words are exact homophones, but each belongs to a different grammatical family.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                   THERE  vs.  THEIR  vs.  THEY'RE                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                       |
|   THERE (Place / Location)          Contains "HERE" (places!)         |
|   "Look over THERE."                Answers "Where?"                  |
|                                                                       |
|   THEIR (Possessive - Belonging)    Contains "HEIR" (people who own!) |
|   "That is THEIR cabin."            Belongs to them.                  |
|                                                                       |
|   THEY'RE (Contraction)             Contains an APOSTROPHE!           |
|   "THEY'RE building a fort."        Short for "THEY ARE".             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Visual Memory Clues

  1. "There" has the word "here" inside it! Both "there" and "here" refer to places and locations.
  2. "Their" has the word "heir" (someone who inherits property) inside it! It shows ownership by people.
  3. "They're" has an apostrophe replacing the letter "a" in "they are."

The Battle of Its vs. It's

This pair accounts for more punctuation mistakes than almost any other in upper-elementary writing.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         ITS  vs.  IT'S                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  IT'S (Contraction)                 |  ITS (Possessive Adjective)     |
|  Short for "IT IS" or "IT HAS"      |  Shows ownership (belonging)    |
|  Has an apostrophe!                 |  NO APOSTROPHE!                 |
|                                     |                                 |
|  "IT'S raining outside."            |  "The kitten cleaned ITS paws." |
|  ("It is raining.")                 |  (Paws belong to the kitten).   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

The "It Is" Test

Whenever you write "it's," immediately substitute "it is." If the sentence sounds logical, keep the apostrophe. If "it is" sounds ridiculous, erase the apostrophe!
- "The tree lost (its / it's) leaves." -> "The tree lost it is leaves?" No! Write "its."


Other Frequently Confused Pairs

Mastering these additional troublesome pairs will make your writing razor-sharp.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                  MORE FREQUENTLY CONFUSED PAIRS                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pair                | Rule and Memory Strategy                  |
+---------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| your / you're       | your: belongs to you ("your desk")        |
|                     | you're: contraction for "you are"         |
| to / too / two      | to: direction or infinitive ("go to bed") |
|                     | too: also or excessively ("too cold")     |
|                     | two: the number 2 ("two cats")            |
| then / than         | then: relates to TIME ("first... then...")|
|                     | than: used for COMPARISONS ("taller than")|
| accept / except     | accept: to receive or agree to            |
|                     | except: excluding, leaving out            |
+---------------------+-------------------------------------------+

Then vs. Than

  • "Then" deals with time: "We ate dinner, and then we had dessert." (Notice that "then" and "time" both feature the letter "e").
  • "Than" deals with comparisons: "Marcus is taller than Lucas." (Notice that "than" and "comparison" both feature the letter "a").

Practice Exercises

Practice Questions

  1. Fill in the blank with there, their, or they're: "The students left ______ backpacks in the hallway."
  2. Fill in the blank with there, their, or they're: "______ planning to visit the natural history museum on Friday."
  3. Fill in the blank with its or it's: "The robin built ______ nest in the branches of the apple tree."
  4. Choose the correct word: "Elena is faster (then / than) the other sprinters on the track team."
  5. Choose the correct word: "The soup was (to / too / two) hot to eat."

Answer Key and Explanations

  1. "their" (Possessive adjective showing ownership of backpacks).
  2. "They're" (Contraction for "They are planning...").
  3. "its" (Possessive adjective showing ownership of the nest; no apostrophe).
  4. "than" (Used for comparison between runners).
  5. "too" (Means excessively hot).