Notes on There/Their/They Re and Titles

Notes on There/Their/They’re and Titles

There, They're, Their Rules

There

Usethereto refer to a physical or abstract place. Usually, if you can replacetherewithherein the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly.

Examples:

"There is an old haunted house."

"We are going over there to eat."

They're

Usethey'reas a contraction forthey are. Usually, if you can replacethey'rewiththey arein the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly.

Examples:

"They're coming over for dinner."

"I wonder who they're talking to."

Their

Usetheirto show possession, commonly followed by a noun. Usually, if you can replacetheirwithourin the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly.

Examples:

"Their dog is pretty awesome."

"Have you seen their new store?"

Source: "There vs. They're vs. Their Grammar."There, They're, Their - The Easiest Way To Learn How To Use These Words. N.p., n.d. Web.

Italics And Underlining: Titles Of Works

When discussed or quoted within text, titles of long, full-length works should be italicized or – if that’s not possible – underlined. Full-length works are things like novels, plays, epic poems, and text books.

Ex.: Have you readTo Kill a Mockingbird?

Ex.: Her dissertation is entitledFeminism in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.

Shorter works (poems, articles, short stories, chapter titles) should also be italicized, but if that’s not possible, they should be put in quotation marks.

Ex.: The first poem in the book is called“Athena’s Birth”.

Ex.: Did you read that newspaper article, “Shark Eats Man”?

Ex.: My favoriteSeinfeldepisode is “The Soup Nazi”.

If the punctuation is part of the title, include it in the italics or underlining or quotation marks. If it’s not part of the title, make sure it’s outside the italics or underlining or quotation marks.

Does this seem a little straight-forward for English? You’re right: there are exceptions! What happens if you have more than one title? If you have, say, a collection of novels in one book (let’s take, for example, all threeLord of the Ringsbooks in one handy but hefty paperback), the title of the collection would be italicized or underlined, and the titles of the three books would then be put in quotation marks.

Ex.: Lord of the Ringsis a very large book. I made it through “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers”, but was dying of boredom by the time I got to “The Return of the King”. I’ll read it at a later date.

"Italics And Underlining: Titles Of Works."Grammarly Handbook | Italics And Underlining: Titles Of Works. Grammarly, 2016.Web.

"There vs. They're vs. Their Grammar."There, They're, Their - The Easiest Way To Learn How To Use These Words. N.p., n.d. Web.