Which sentence uses the word 'their' correctly?

• A. There left their backpacks in class.
• B. They left theirs backpacks in class.
• C. They left their backpack in class.
• D. They left their backpacks in class.

Answer: (D)

Ownership and noun form are the key ideas here. “Their” is a possessive determiner that comes directly before a noun to show who owns it. When you’re talking about more than one item, you use the plural noun after it. So “their backpacks” correctly shows that multiple backpacks belong to them and matches the plural subject.

In the other options, you can see the problems: starting with “There” misplaces a location word where a subject should be; using “theirs” before a noun is incorrect because “theirs” is a possessive pronoun that stands alone and doesn’t take a noun after it; and using a singular noun “backpack” doesn’t align with the plural subject and the plural item in this sentence.

The sentence that uses the possessive correctly is: They left their backpacks in class.