Theirs or Their’s: When Possession Needs No Apostrophe

Theirs is correct. Their’s is incorrect in standard English.

Use theirs as a possessive pronoun when something belongs to them. Unlike their, it can stand on its own without a noun after it.

Their car is outside.
The car is theirs.

This small difference is easy to remember once you see how the two words work in a sentence.

---

Quick Answer

The correct spelling is theirs, with no apostrophe.

Theirs shows possession and means “belonging to them.” It can refer to more than one person or to one person when singular they is used.

Their’s is not the standard spelling. The apostrophe is unnecessary because theirs is already a possessive pronoun.

For example:

Their house is large.
The house is theirs.

The first sentence uses their before the noun house. The second uses theirs because the noun does not need to be repeated.

---

What Does “Theirs” Mean?

Theirs means that something belongs to them. It is a possessive pronoun, which means it can take the place of a noun phrase that shows ownership.

For example:

We have our tickets. They have theirs.

Here, theirs means “their tickets.” The word tickets does not need to be repeated because the meaning is already clear.

You can use theirs for many kinds of things:

• That umbrella is theirs.
• The blue jacket is theirs.
• The final decision was theirs.
• Those books are theirs.
• The seats near the window are theirs.

In each example, theirs identifies the person or people who own something.

---

The Difference Between “Their” and “Theirs”

Their and theirs are both possessive forms, but they do not have the same grammatical role.

Their is a possessive determiner. It comes before a noun:

Their house is near the school.

Theirs is a possessive pronoun. It can replace a noun phrase:

The house is theirs.

Compare the two forms:

With their	With theirs
Their car is new.	The car is theirs.
Their idea worked.	The idea was theirs.
Their seats are near the door.	The seats are theirs.
Their dog is friendly.	The dog is theirs.

The difference becomes clearer when you look at what follows the word. Their works with a noun, while theirs is used independently.

For example, you would say their book, not theirs book. But if you do not need to repeat book, you can say the book is theirs.

---

Why Is “Their’s” Incorrect?

The apostrophe in their’s is not needed because theirs is already a possessive pronoun.

Some possessive forms do use apostrophes:

• Sarah’s phone
• the dog’s bowl
• the student’s desk

However, possessive pronouns such as mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs do not use an apostrophe.

So write:

The red seats are theirs.

Not:

The red seats are their’s.

The same point helps explain its and it’s. Its is the possessive form, while it’s is a contraction of it is or it has.

For example:

The dog wagged its tail.
It’s a friendly dog.

In the first sentence, its shows possession. In the second, it’s means “it is.”

---

Theirs vs. There’s

Theirs and there’s may look similar, but they have completely different meanings.

shows possession:

That laptop is theirs.

There’s is a contraction of there is or, in some contexts, there has:

There’s a laptop on the desk.

One easy way to identify there’s is to expand it. If the sentence still works with there is, then there’s is the correct contraction.

For example:

There’s a problem.
There is a problem.

But you cannot replace theirs with there is:

The problem is theirs.

Here, theirs tells us that the problem belongs to them or is connected with them.

---

Their, There, They’re, and Theirs

These four words are often confused because they look or sound similar, but each has a different meaning and grammatical use.

Their, there, they’re, and theirs are four separate words.

Word	Meaning	Example
their	Belonging to them; used before a noun	Their car is outside.
there	Refers to a place or existence	The keys are over there.
they’re	Short for “they are”	They’re waiting outside.
theirs	Belonging to them; used independently	The car is theirs.

A useful distinction is that their and theirs are both related to possession, while there and they’re have different jobs.

---

Can You Use “Theirs” for One Person?

Yes. Theirs can refer to one person when they is being used as a singular pronoun.

For example:

Jordan left a jacket here. I think it is theirs.

Here, theirs refers to Jordan, even though Jordan is one person.

The same pattern applies to their:

Jordan left their jacket here.

This use is not limited to plural groups. When singular they refers to one person, its related possessive forms can include their and theirs.

---

How Do You Use “Theirs” in a Sentence?

Use theirs when the noun being possessed is already clear and does not need to be repeated. It often appears after a linking verb such as is, was, or are, but it can also replace a noun phrase in a comparison.

For example:

The blue car is theirs.

Here, theirs means “their car.”

You can also use it when comparing ownership:

Our office is on the first floor, and theirs is upstairs.

Here, theirs means “their office.”

Another natural example is:

I brought my laptop, and they brought theirs.

Here, theirs means “their laptop,” so there is no need to repeat the noun.

---

“Ours or Theirs”?

Both ours and theirs are correct possessive pronouns. The choice depends on who owns the thing being discussed.

Use ours when something belongs to us:

This car is ours.

Use theirs when something belongs to them:

That car is theirs.

You can also compare the two in the same sentence:

The seats near the window are ours, and the seats by the door are theirs.

The same idea can be expressed with our and their before nouns:

Our seats are near the window.
Their seats are by the door.

---

Theirs, Their’s, Thiers, or Thier?

Several spellings can cause confusion, especially when writing quickly. Only theirs is the standard spelling of the possessive pronoun.

Spelling	Correct?	Use
theirs	Yes	Possessive pronoun
their’s	No	Incorrect apostrophe
thiers	No	Misspelling of theirs
thier	No	Misspelling of their

For example:

The blue bags are theirs.

If you mean that something belongs to them, theirs is the form you need. If the word comes directly before a noun, use their instead.

---

Common Mistakes With “Theirs”

“Theirs house”

Incorrect:

Theirs house is across the street.

Correct:

Their house is across the street.

Their is the form needed before a noun, so theirs cannot be used in this position.

“The house is their”

Incorrect:

The house is their.

Correct:

The house is theirs.

Here, the possessive form stands on its own, so theirs is needed.

“Their’s house”

Incorrect:

Their’s house is large.

Correct:

Their house is large.

Their never takes an apostrophe, and their is the form needed before a noun.

---

How to Avoid the “Their’s” Mistake

The easiest way to avoid their’s is to treat theirs like other possessive pronouns.

You would normally write:

• The book is mine.
• The book is yours.
• The book is hers.
• The book is ours.
• The book is theirs.

None of these possessive pronouns needs an apostrophe.

This is different from a noun showing possession:

Maria’s book is on the table.

Here, Maria’s uses an apostrophe because Maria is a noun in a possessive construction.

So the apostrophe is not what makes a word possessive. English has different possessive forms, and theirs is one of the forms that does not use an apostrophe.

---

FAQs

What does “theirs” mean?

Theirs is a possessive pronoun that means something belongs to them. For example, “The blue car is theirs” means the blue car belongs to them.

Is “theirs” grammatically correct?

Yes. Theirs is a standard English possessive pronoun used to show ownership without repeating the noun.

When should I use “theirs”?

Use theirs when something belongs to them and the noun does not need to be repeated.

The blue car is theirs.

Is “their’s” ever correct?

No. Their’s is not the standard spelling of the possessive pronoun. The correct form is theirs.

Is it “ours” or “theirs”?

Both are correct. Use ours when something belongs to us and theirs when something belongs to them.

This car is ours, but that one is theirs.

Is it spelled “thier,” “thiers,” or “their”?

Use their before a noun and theirs when the possessive form stands alone. Thier and thiers are misspellings.

---

Conclusion

Theirs is the correct spelling, while their’s is incorrect in standard English. Use their before a noun and theirs when the possessive form stands alone.

The key is simple: write their house when the noun follows, but write the house is theirs when the possessive form stands alone. Avoid their’s, thier, and thiers in standard writing.