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Mixed up English
What’s the difference between theirs and their’s?
Theirs
Theirs is the third person plural possessive pronoun – it replaces the possessive adjective "their" + a noun.
He found a book – is it theirs?
Is this yours or theirs?
I can’t find my keys, but theirs are on the table.
Theirs is a better idea.
Theirs is over here.
Their’s
Though you may see their’s written even by native speakers, it is incorrect. Theirs should never have an apostrophe.
The Bottom Line
The idea that theirs needs an apostrophe comes out of the fact that on virtually every other word, ‘s indicates possession, so English speakers sometimes think theirs should be spelled their’s. However, this is always incorrect – theirs is the only correct spelling.
Related difficulties
- apostrope s
- hers vs her’s
- its vs it’s
- ours vs our’s
- their, there, they’re
- whose vs who’s
- yours vs your’s
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