Meaning & use
they'll
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Meanings
modal verb
short form of "they will," used to talk about the future or make predictions
Grammar: Used before the base form of a verb: They'll arrive soon.
Patterns
- they'll + verb
They'll be here in about ten minutes.
I think they'll enjoy the movie.
They'll probably call you tomorrow.
modal verb
short form of "they will," used to make offers, promises, or decisions
Grammar: Often used in offers or agreements: They'll help you with that.
Patterns
- they'll + verb
They'll take care of the problem, I'm sure.
Don't worry—they'll pay you back next week.
They'll show you how to use the machine.
Common combinations
- they'll be
- They'll be late if they don't hurry.
- they'll have
- They'll have finished by noon.
- they'll do
- They'll do whatever you ask.
- they'll never
- They'll never agree to that plan.
Synonyms and how they differ
- they will
- The full form; use it in formal writing or when you want to emphasize "will."
Opposites
Word family
- they pronoun
- the subject pronoun referring to a group of people or things
- they're contraction
- short form of "they are"
- they've contraction
- short form of "they have"
- they'd contraction
- short form of "they would" or "they had"
Commonly confused: they'll or they're? they'll or their?
they'll vs they're
Sounds the same but means "they are." They'll = they will; they're = they are.
they'll vs their
Possessive determiner meaning "belonging to them." They'll is a contraction of "they will."
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
"They'll" is followed by the base form of the verb, so "they'll go" is correct. "They'll going" and "they'll to go" are ungrammatical, and "they'll goes" uses the wrong verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “they'll”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.