Is It Theirs or *Their’s? | Meaning, Spelling & Examples

Theirs is a third-person plural possessive pronoun. It’s also used as a gender-neutral singular possessive pronoun. It’s sometimes written as “their’s”—with an apostrophe—but this spelling is incorrect.

Possession is typically indicated by adding ’s to a word, but possessive pronouns are an exception to this rule. This means that “their’s” is always incorrect. This is also true for other possessive pronouns, such as ours and theirs. The QuillBot Grammar Checker will fix this and other common mistakes automatically.

Examples: Theirs and their’s in a sentence
  • I don’t know if you can borrow this iPad. It’s their’s, not mine.
  • I don’t know if you can borrow this iPad. It’s theirs, not mine.
  • I wish I had a friendship as special as their’s!
  • I wish I had a friendship as special as theirs!

Their or theirs

The possessive pronoun theirs is used to show ownership of something by one or multiple people other than you. It’s related to the possessive adjective their. However, while their is used to modify a noun, theirs is used to replace a noun.

Examples: Their vs theirs in a sentence
Lauren asked them for their opinion on the matter.

Is this bike yours or theirs?

Theirs, their’s or theirs’

Theirs is often written as their’s or theirs’ (with apostrophes), but both are incorrect. Theirs is the only correct spelling.

Examples: Theirs, their’s or theirs’
  • I didn’t know you had two dogs! Oh no, one of them is their’s!
  • I didn’t know you had two dogs! Oh no, one of them is theirs’!
  • I didn’t know you had two dogs! Oh no, one of them is theirs!

Frequently asked questions about theirs or their's

Is it concern of theirs or their’s?

The correct version is concern of theirs (without an apostrophe).

Theirs and their’s are often confused, but “their’s” is never correct. Theirs is a possessive pronoun and doesn’t take an apostrophe.

Is it that’s their’s or theirs?

The correct version is that’s theirs (without an apostrophe).

Theirs and their’s are often confused, but “their’s” is never correct. Theirs is a possessive pronoun and doesn’t take an apostrophe.

Is it try theirs or try their’s?

The correct version is try theirs (without an apostrophe).

Theirs and their’s are often confused, but “their’s” is never correct. Theirs is a possessive pronoun and doesn’t take an apostrophe.

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Julia Merkus, MA

Julia has a bachelor in Dutch language and culture and two masters in Linguistics and Language and speech pathology. After a few years as an editor, researcher, and teacher, she now writes articles about her specialist topics: grammar, linguistics, methodology, and statistics.