Their, There or They're?

At Mrs. P's request, I bring to you my understanding of the usage of three words: there, their & they're.

How do we keep these three sound-alike words (homophones) straight in our daily usage?

There means "at that place."

Their means "belonging to them."

They're is a contraction for they are.

Examples:

Put the book over there.
We went to their house.
They're on vacation this week.
[They are on vacation this week.]

"Their" is possessive. The house belongs to them. "There" indicates a place.

If you have trouble remembering it, remove the "t" from "there" and you have "here," which is a place, as is "there."

"They're" has an apostrophe (that hanging comma thingy), which tells us it is a contraction. The apostrophe replaces a space and the letter "a." Thus "They are" becomes "They're."

I welcome any mnemonic devices you readers may suggest. [Mnemonic ("nee-mah-nik") adjective, assisting or intended to assist the memory. Random House College Dictionary, copyright 1980.]

Another common error is using "there's" or "theres" when "theirs" is meant. My grammar/spell check is screaming at me right now about "theres." Theres no such thing. (Did you catch my error? I should have said, "There's no such thing.") "There's" is a contraction for "there is," not to be confused with the possessive "theirs."

The Loyola University Press WRITING HANDBOOK (copyright 1953) gives these examples:

The money is theirs, belongs to them.
There's[there is] enough food for everybody.
These must be friends of theirs.

I hope that helps somebody out there in cyberspace!  I welcome your comments.

Thank you, Mrs. P, for the suggestion.

Hester