theirs
- 01 A2 Elementary
the thing or things that belong to 'them'.
the possessive pronoun corresponding to the third-person plural 'they', functioning as a full noun phrase.
Simple“We have our tickets, and they have theirs.”
In context“While our department met its quarterly targets, the marketing team struggled to reach theirs due to unforeseen budget cuts.”
UsageThis pronoun stands alone and never comes before a noun; use 'their' if a noun follows.
PitfallThe blue car is their's. The blue car is theirs.Possessive pronouns like 'theirs', 'ours', and 'yours' never take an apostrophe.
- 02 B1 Intermediate
the house or home where a group of people live.
an elliptical construction referring to the residence or home of the third-person plural subjects.
Simple“We're going over to theirs for dinner on Saturday night.”
In context“After the concert ended, the whole group headed back to theirs to continue the celebration in a more private setting.”
UsageCommonly used with prepositions like 'at' or 'to' in British and Australian English.
Synonymstheir placetheir house
From Middle English theires, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to their + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced theirn (from Middle English theiren, formed by analogy to mine, thine) in standard speech.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.