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Wed 7 Oct, 2015 11:57 am
Is it correct to use an apostrophe to contract 'is'?
Examples:
Dinner's ready.
Mike's back. (Mike is back from vacation. Not a possessive about his back.)
Tom's going to the store.
I'm mostly confused about the middle one, since at first glace it seems to be a possessive. At least in the other cases the possessive doesn't make sense. If this is correct, how would you know if it's the possessive or a contraction?
@perrbr,
The second sentence is ambiguous without more information and can be read either way.
While it is "correct" to use an apostrophe and the letter 's' instead of 'is', it is informal and conversational.
@perrbr,
Per, "Tom's going to the store" might make reference to an event already having happened. Was it Tom's visit to Mom that accounts for his interest in food? No, it was Tom's going to the store
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