pron
Common
thats
Thats (pron) means Whose; belonging to which (a dialectal or archaic possessive relative pronoun). Example: “The house thats roof had caved in was condemned.”
pron
1
Whose; belonging to which (a dialectal or archaic possessive relative pronoun).
"The house thats roof had caved in was condemned."
"The farmer thats barn burned down last winter has rebuilt it."
"Pity the traveller thats horse went lame miles from any village."
How to use thats
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn old or dialect form meaning "whose."
When to use it
Rare and dialectal — not standard modern English; don't confuse with the common contraction "that's" (that is/that has).
Easily confused with
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The house _____ roof had caved in was condemned.
Synonyms
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whose
of which
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Rhymes for thats
See all rhymes for thats →Frequently asked questions
What does “thats” mean?
The word “thats” means whose; belonging to which (a dialectal or archaic possessive relative pronoun). In plain terms, an old or dialect form meaning "whose.".
How do you use “thats” in a sentence?
Here is “thats” used in a sentence: “The house thats roof had caved in was condemned.”
What part of speech is “thats”?
“Thats” is a pronoun.
Is “thats” a common word?
“Thats” is a fairly common word in modern English.
What is the difference between thats and that's?
They are quite different. That's is by far the more common: it is a contraction of "that is" or "that has," as in "that's fine." Thats without an apostrophe is a rare dialectal or archaic possessive relative pronoun meaning "whose." In modern writing, the apostrophe form "that's" is almost always the one intended.
Is thats a real word?
As a standalone spelling it is rare. In some dialects and older English, thats served as a possessive relative pronoun meaning "whose." In standard modern English, however, writing "thats" is usually just a missing apostrophe, and the intended word is the contraction "that's," short for "that is" or "that has."
When should you use an apostrophe in that's?
Use the apostrophe whenever you mean "that is" or "that has," which covers nearly every everyday case, such as "that's correct" or "that's gone." The apostrophe marks the missing letters. Only the rare dialectal possessive pronoun meaning "whose" is written without one, and that usage is seldom seen today.
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