Leur or leurs for enfants

Keir M.C1Kwiziq community member

Surely for cars that are "theirs" that is plural and should be "les leurs"?

Should there not be an apostrophe "their's" to denote a single person and therefore allow "la leur"?

Asked 2 years ago

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

No, "theirs" can be singular or plural, and it never takes an apostrophe.

https://www.lawlessenglish.com/english-mistakes/theirs/

Like02 years ago

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Keir,

I agree that for cars "theirs" would be les leurs.

There is no apostrophe for theirs. A masculine single would be le sien - his.

Bonne journée

Jim

Like12 years ago

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The example with the car is "la leur" = "theirs" - i.e. a single car belonging to more than one person.

le sien can be "his" or "hers", but it cannot refer to a car, because it's feminine.

Like02 years ago

Surely for cars that are "theirs" that is plural and should be "les leurs"?

Should there not be an apostrophe "their's" to denote a single person and therefore allow "la leur"?

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