Their, there, or they're? Choose by meaning

“Their,” “there,” and “they're” sound alike in many varieties of English, but they do different jobs. The right choice depends on meaning, so listening to the sentence alone may not reveal an error.

Use “their” for possession

“Their” shows that something belongs to or is associated with people or a person referred to as “they”: “The speakers brought their notes.” It can also accompany singular “they”: “Each participant can bring their own notebook.” The form does not take an apostrophe. Write “their schedule,” not “they're schedule.” To check, ask whose schedule you mean. If the answer is the people or person under discussion, the possessive form fits.

Use “there” for place or existence

“Put the notes there” points to a place. “There is a note on the table” introduces the existence of something. In the second pattern, check the verb against what follows: “There are three notes on the table.” “There” can sometimes produce a wordy opening. “Three notes are on the table” is more direct, but the original may be natural in context. Correct grammar does not require replacing every “there is” sentence.

Use “they're” for “they are”

Expand “they're” to “they are.” If the expansion does not work, choose another form. “They are notes” does not mean “their notes,” even though the original words may sound similar.

A quick editing routine

Search your draft for all three forms. For each occurrence, label the meaning: possession, place or existence, or “they are.” This focused pass is especially useful after dictation, where homophones may be transcribed incorrectly. Practice with “___ waiting for ___ turn over ___.” The answers are “They're,” “their,” and “there.” The sentence means that people are waiting, the turn is theirs, and the waiting happens in that location. A meaning-based test is more dependable than choosing whichever spelling looks familiar.