News stories from 2003 reported that US troops travelling through Iraq were greeted by Iraqis with their thumbs up. Just because a gesture is common, it is not necessarily universal, warns Lauren Gawne, a linguist at La Trobe University in Australia.Īnd its meaning can change over time. The "thumbs up" might be a common way to show your appreciation on social media, but in some parts of Europe and the Middle East the gesture can be offensive. They might help us to recall words and shape our thoughts – they can even change the sounds our audience hears.Įven people who have been blind from birth gesture as they speak, so you might be led to believe that there is something universally understood about the gestures we make – but that is not the case. Send us feedback about these examples.Our hands are a useful tool for adding meaning to our speech. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'their.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Rick Montgomery,, 9 June 2017 See More Proud Gay American June 9, the lone voice asking for accountability. , THEIR MAD AA HELL AND NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE! #womenleadership Peter Wade, Esquire, The two boys endured a spell in a military school before being swept up in rock music in their teens. Christopher Borrelli,, Cicadas have five stages in their development, and after the first stage, each subsequent stage takes about four years to complete. Graham, The Atlantic, Several years (and one divorce) later, his kids had moved to New England with their mother. Shafer, The Courier-Journal, 2 June 2017 Fidel Castro slowly faded from view, becoming even less coherent, before dying at home in November, as his brother slowly rolled back their revolution. Vivian Salama, The Seattle Times, 2 June 2017 Both had been turned in by a landlord after their owner had been evicted. travelers enjoying mojitos in the police state that drove exiles from their homes and businesses. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 13 June 2017 Anti-Castro Cuban-Americans hate the idea of U.S. They're not an easy group of words, but with practice we know you can master their distinctions. The last of this trio, their, is the possessive form of they, so it has to do with what belongs to, relates to, or is made or done by certain people, animals, or things:Īnd there you go. They're (=they are) two of our biggest problems. They're (=they are) both really good books. They're (=they are) the cutest puppies ever. Both are connected to the idea of "them." The other two are trickier because they both have the idea of the plural in them. It's also the one to use as the first word in sentences that have the subject after the verb:Īnd it's the one used with is and are at the beginning of sentences and questions: It's about location in the more abstract sense too: It has the word here in it, which can help remind us that this particular word is often about location: There, they're, and their: they sound the same but have different meanings and keeping them straight can be very tricky.
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