Once an English Teacher, Always an English Teacher (Part 2)

So I've had quite a few requests for some more grammar lessons.  (I wish I had that when I taught high school English. ;-) )

Lessons for today:

There vs. Their vs. They're

and

To vs. Too vs. Two

So let's start:  

There/Their/They're

Unfortunately they all sound the same, so sometimes (alright, oftentimes) they become interchangeable while writing, but unfortunately they aren't interchangeable.

"There" is a bit more complicated, so I'll start with "their."

"Their" refers to people.  It is a pronoun.  Don't stop reading!  I'll explain pronoun!  A pronoun can be complicated, but think of it as a word that is used in the place of an actual name.  So let's use the example of "their."

"Sally, George, and Maddie's dance class starts at 10." Can also be written... "Their dance class starts at 10."   

"Their" refers to people. 

So now let's tackle "there."

I could go on FOREVER (or at least way too long) about all the uses of "there."  Just remember that "there" is not used to refer to people.  It is usually reserved to reference locations.

"The dance studio is over there."

"I am from California and my husband is from there too."

The only weird use for the word "there" is as an expression of satisfaction.

"There!  It's done!"

Now on to "they're."

"They're" is a contraction (one word made from two like, "do and "not" becomes "don't) of the words "they" and "are."  So when to use it?  Only if the sentence would also make sense saying "they are."

"They're great dancers" also makes sense when you say, "They are great dancers."

Whew!

Next!

To/Too/Two

Ok, the uses for "to" seem endless so we will start with "two."

"Two" refers to the number 2 written out.  (One down, two to go.  Teehee.)

"Too" is used to express the following: in addition, in excess, or degree.  If in your sentence the "too" is an expression those concepts, you need to use "t-o-o."

"Your daughter takes ballet? My daughter takes ballet too."   ("Too" here indicates in addition.  The speaker's daughter also takes ballet.)

"He was too good at fouette turns!  He made us all jealous!"  ("Too" here indicates excess.)

"Our teacher was not too happy when we showed up late to tap class."  ("Too" here refers to a degree of the teacher's displeasure.)

"To" is used everywhere else!  For example:

"Please take me to dance class."

"I need to stretch."

Honestly, I could explain all of the uses for "to," but it would include words like preposition, infinitive, etc., which isn't fun for anyone, and really what is important is if you know when to use "too" and "two," you won't run into problems.

Hope that helps!