Some words sound alike but mean different things. Several pairs are a contraction and a possessive word, so the apostrophe test you know will sort them out.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| its / it’s | belonging to it / it is | The dog wagged its tail. It’s late. |
| their / there / they’re | belonging to them / that place / they are | They’re putting their coats over there. |
| your / you’re | belonging to you / you are | You’re leaving your hat. |
| whose / who’s | belonging to whom / who is | Who’s the girl whose bike this is? |
| to / too / two | toward / also, very / 2 | Two of us went to the store too. |
| then / than | at that time, next / comparing | Taller than me; we ate, then left. |
Key idea
If a word has an apostrophe, read it as two words (it is, they are, you are, who is). If the two words don’t fit, use the form without the apostrophe. Use than to compare and then for time.
Why it works
A spell checker only knows whether a word is spelled right, not whether it is the word you meant: “Their going too the park” passes a spell check. A reader notices at once.
Worked example: Three in one sentence
“___ going to bring ___ dog over ___.”
- First blank: “They are going”: They’re.
- Second: the dog belongs to them: their.
- Third: a place: there.
Answer: They’re going to bring their dog over there.
Worked example: Then or than?
“She is taller ___ her brother, and ___ she grew another inch.”
- The first compares: than.
- The second tells what happened next: then.
Answer: than; then
Common mistake
Trusting the spell checker. Proofread these words on purpose: expand every apostrophe word into two words, and check every then and than.