I recently completed an online test to check my knowledge of the proper use of There/their /they're and scored suprisingly low. I thought I knew the proper uses well but perhaps I didn't please can any one tell me if the usages below are right or wrong

He was standing over there.
They forgot their sandwiches.
They don't know where they're going.

I thought these were correct but I scored 5%.

Those are correct.

Thankyou.
So it was the test that was incorrect. Lol. Although I should know better than to trust net tests.
I'm studying to become a teacher and thought I was in trouble if I didn't know something as basic as this.

Yes, those are correct.

Here's the main contents of two articles I wrote with examples of the words you listed, as well as some other common concerns such as, It's and Its and Affect vs Effect (sorry if the formatting is a bit messed up due to copying and pasting in the forum):

Below is a list of words (homophones - words that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and often spelling) that are commonly confused and misused when writing prose.

Next to the word is a basic definition or explanation of meaning followed by proper use in a simple sentence.

They're - contraction of, they are (They're ready to go.)
Their - possessive for of they (It was their house.)
There - a place (Over there.)
- intensive adverb (Mitchell there is a good writer.)
- interjection (There, there, it will be all right.)

Its - possessive of it (They took its leash.)
It's - contraction of it is (It's almost time to go.)

Your - possessive pronoun (Your book is on the shelf.)
You're - contraction of you are (You're going to be late.)

Hear - a verb, action of receiving sound waves (I can't hear you.)
Here - a place (Come here.)
- interjection (This here book is old.)

To - a preposition (I will run to the store.)
Two - a number or total (I saw two movies today.)
Too - an adverb, similar/replace also, besides, or excessively (I ate too much candy.)

Below is a list of words (including homophones - words that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and often spelling) that are commonly confused and misused when writing prose. Next to the word is a basic definition or explanation of meaning followed by proper use in a simple sentence.


Affect - most commonly as a verb, to influence or alter.
(The weather will affect the bus schedule.)
-can be a noun in reference to a facial expression.
(The old men seen on television had been carefully chosen for blandness of affect.)

Effect - most commonly as a noun, a result or consequence, cause and effect (The effect of the snow was to delay the bus.)
can be a verb, to bring into being or put into action (You will effect a settlement of the dispute.)

Aloud - adverb, means:
in a loud manner (They spoke aloud with one voice.)

Allowed - verb (past tense) means:
to assign an amount of time (They were allowed 20 minutes for lunch.) to admit or concede (It must be allowed that money can cause problems.) permit (You are not allowed to smoke in school.)

Break - verb, means: (most common) to fracture or separate into parts (That will break his arm)
to disrupt the order of, retreat (That will cause the brave column of solders to break.)
noun, means: (most common.)
a stroke of luck (That was a bad break.)
a dash or escape (We should make a break for it.)
a planned disruption or given some slack (Take a break. or Give me a break.)

Brake - noun means (most common): a device to slow something down. (Gently apply the brake to stop the car.)

Fewer vs. Less

If you can count it, use FEWER (I have fewer books than you.)
(I have fewer grains of salt than you.)

If you can’t count it, use LESS (I have less salt than you.)
(I got less sleep than you last night.)

How the heck can those be incorrect? Someone could've pranked you, lol, pulled youre leg

ditto above... are you sure you typed them in your post exactly as they appeared in the test?...

Yeah someone was messing with your head lol they are perfectly correct

I think the maker of that test should be arrested.

The punishment should be to be trapped they're, where their doomed to read there own writing, without reprieve.

That sentence made me flinch a little, Cog :p

What always irritates me is 'your' in place of 'you're' - I honestly don't understand how they can be confused when I assume most people know 'you're' is short for 'you are'. I see endless amounts of people using the incorrect one on the Internet, it drives me nuts :p

That sentence made me flinch a little, Cog Good! It SHOULD make you cringe! :D

I recently completed an online test to check my knowledge of the proper use of There/their /they're and scored suprisingly low. I thought I knew the proper uses well but perhaps I didn't please can any one tell me if the usages below are right or wrong

He was standing over there.
They forgot their sandwiches.
They don't know where they're going.

I thought these were correct but I scored 5%.

Link?

It was a facebook application, enough said really.
I have contacted the creator and let them know, as have a few others from the reply I recieved. They assure users that their (Or is it there?) grammar was not wrong, their (they're?) computer coding was.

It doesn't really matter, though, does it? Whether it's their knowledge of English or their knowledge of coding, the site is flawed. That makes it one of very many flawed sites on the Internet.

The best lesson anyone can take from this is to take any information you encounter, whether it is from the Internet or more traditional sources, with a very large grain of salt.

This was a case where no one had any incentive to present skewed information. Many other areas, such as medical or legal advice, product discussions, and so on, come with strong incentives to present biased information for or against a particular viewpoint. Read critically, and look for other independent sources that confirm, or better yet dispute, what you find in the first source you encounter.

The punishment should be to be trapped they're, where their doomed to read there own writing, without reprieve.

i second that motion:D

for the owner/editor of a site devoted to writing [or to giving advice to writers] to be blaming grammar mistakes on anything other than their [not 'they're' or 'their'!] own ignorance and/or incompetence is nonsense, pure and simple!