Is the Sentence “Are Those Houses Are Theirs” Correct?
No, the sentence “Are those houses are theirs” is not correct. There are two errors:
The verb ARE is repeated. There is no apostrophe for THEIRS.The correct sentence is as follows:
Are those houses theirs?
Alternatively, the corrected sentence without the question mark is:
Those houses are theirs.
Houses and Theirs - Plural
Therefore, the correct statement should be:
Those are their houses.
Two Ways to Write the Correct Sentence
1. Those are their houses.
2. Those houses are theirs.
Possessive Pronouns: No Apostrophe Before -s
It’s important to note that possessive pronouns such as his, hers, ours, theirs, mine, its do not have an apostrophe before the -s. Even though these pronouns often end in /s/, we do NOT write your’s, her’s, our’s, their’s, etc.
Your corrected version should be:
Those houses are theirs.
When to Use It’s vs. Its
It’s (which is a contraction of “it is” or “it has”) should be distinguished from the possessive “its” (without the apostrophe). Here are some examples to illustrate this:
The dog is not in its kennel. It’s the kennel that is under repair. (It is the kennel under repair) The dog has had its food. It’s time to take the dog out for a walk. Put its leash on. It’s time to go. It’s been quite some time since they went.In the examples above, note the correct usage of the apostrophe and the difference between it’s and its.
Explanation of Apostrophe Use
The apostrophe “s” is used to make a noun in the Nominative Case (when it functions as the Subject) into a Possessive Case. For example:
Mohan is my friend. (Nominative case) This is Mohan’s book. (Possessive case)However, if the word in question is already in the Possessive Case, the use of Apostrophe “s” is incorrect. In the case of their, which is the Possessive case for the Nominative Pronoun they, the use of Apostrophe “s” is a mistake. Therefore:
Those houses are theirs.
Similarly, other possessive forms such as "your’s faithfully" should be written as "Yours faithfully."