Hers or Her's: What's the Difference?

Wondering what the difference is between ‘hers’ and ‘her’s’? We’ll cover that below, plus teach you how to use the correct version of the word in a sentence correctly.

Don’t feel like skimming? Here’s the short answer.

• ‘Hers’ is the singular third-person feminine possessive form of the word, which means it shows ownership.
• ‘Her’s’ isn’t a recognized word in the English language.

Hers vs. ‘Her’s’ – Which is Correct?

As we just went over, the correct spelling of the word is ‘hers.’ Any other spelling of the word would be incorrect and ungrammatical.

‘Hers’ or ‘Her’s’ – How to Use Each Correctly

To use ‘hers’ correctly, you’d use it to show that a female or female animal owns something.

For example:

• That trumpet is hers. She left it here yesterday. (correct usage)
• That trumpet is her's. She left it here yesterday. (incorrect usage)

Understanding Possessives

You might be tempted to spell the word ‘hers’ with an apostrophe, but that’s the incorrect way to use possessives in the English language.

Let’s first define what a possessive noun is.

A possessive noun is a noun that shows ownership or some kind of direct connection.

Take a look at a few examples of possessive nouns:

• Cat > Cat’s
• Gabrielle > Gabrielle’s
• The White House > The White House’s

But in the case of ‘hers,’ the word is a third-person singular possessive noun.

Other examples of possessive nouns include:

• First Person (mine, ours)
• Second Person (yours)
• Third Person (his, hers, theirs)

The singular and plural forms of the second person are the same (yours), just as the plural third-person possessive is the same as the singular (theirs).

Definition and Meaning 

The Merriam-Webster definition of the word is: “that which belongs to her > used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective her.”

A Brief History

The first known use of the word was in the 13^th century, and the meaning has remained unchanged since then.

How to Use ‘Hers’ in a Sentence

Now that you know what the word means let’s talk about how to use it in a sentence correctly. Take a look at some examples of how you’d do that.

• That bunny is hers, so please don't touch it. I don't want her to get angry.
• That might not be hers. We shouldn’t touch it.
• She says that the camera lens is hers.
• That gorgeous wedding dress from Vera Wang is hers. It was made just for Julia.
• Is that adapter yours or hers? I need to charge my phone.
• That jewelry box was hers now. It used to belong to her grandmother.

Final Thoughts on ‘Hers’ and ‘Her’s’

To recap, we’ve learned that ‘hers’ is the only correct way to spell the word. The apostrophe version is not an actual word in the English language and should never be used in your writing.

If you ever get stuck, you can always come back here and browse our library of content dedicated to explaining confusing words and phrases in the English language. You might come across some you don’t recognize occasionally, so don’t be afraid to come back and brush up on what you’ve learned so far.