- 'S
- abbr.
1 is, has (he's; it's; John's; Charles's).
2 us (let's).
3 colloq. does (what's he say?).
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I. \like -ʸs\ verbEtymology: contraction of is, has, does1. : is Ishes here
2. : hashe's seen them
3. : doeswhat's he want?
II. \\s\ pronounwhat's it mean?
Etymology: by contractionIII. \like -ʸs\ adjectivelet's
Etymology: by contractionIV. \before a vowel sound: z; before a consonant sound that can follow word-initial s in English: s; before a vȯiced consonant that does not follow word-initial s: z or (with alteration of the vȯiced to the corresponding vȯiceless consonant) s\ nounI cut off's head — Shakespeare
Etymology: contraction of God's, gen. of God: God's — often used in mild oaths'sblood
V. \\z\ conjunction'sdeath
Etymology: by contractionVI. verb or 'se also s' \\s\so's you can come
Etymology: contraction of salldialect Britain : shallI'se repeat each poor man's prayer — Robert Burns
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's1an ending used in writing to represent the possessive morpheme after most singular nouns, some plural nouns, esp. those not ending in a letter or combination of letters representing an s or z sound, noun phrases, and noun substitutes, as in man's, women's, baby's, James's, witness's, (or witness'), king of England's, or anyone's.[ME -es, OE]'s21. contraction of is: She's here.2. contraction of does: What's he do for a living now?3. contraction of has: He's just gone.Usage. See contraction.'s3Archaic.'s4a contraction of us, as in Let's go.Usage. See contraction.'s5a contraction of as, as in so's to get there on time.* * *
's /z or s/ a sentence element used to form the possessive of singular nouns (eg John's, the dog's), some pronouns (eg one's), and plural nouns not ending in -s or a similar sound (eg the children's); often also to form the plural lower-case letters (eg m's), of numbers (eg 3's) or symbols; a shortened form of ↑has and ↑is (eg she's taken it, he's not here); a shortened form of ↑us (pronounced s; eg let's go).* * *
1. the 19th letter of the English alphabet. There are two s's in sister.2. any sound represented by this letter.3. (used as a symbol for) the 19th, or more usually 18th (of an actual or possible series, either I or J being omitted).anything shaped like the letter S: »The road curved in a big S.
's,the shortened form of is, has, or us, added to the preceding word: »That's it = That is it. He's here = He is here. She's just gone = She has just gone. That's been done = That has been done. Let's eat = Let us eat.
-s1,a suffix used to form the plural of most nouns as in boys, dogs, hats, houses. It also forms the plural of noun substitutes, such as symbols.╂[Middle English -es, or -s, Old English -as, suffix denoting the nominative or accusative plural of certain masculine nouns]-s2,a suffix used to form the third person singular of verbs in the present indicative active, as in lies, runs, rides, sees, asks, tells, bites, bluffs.╂[Middle English -es, or -s, Old English, (originally) suffix denoting the second person singular]-s3,a suffix used to form some verbs, as in needs, unawares.╂[Middle English, Old English -es, (originally) suffix denoting the genitive singular of masculine and neuter nouns and adjectives]-'s,a suffix used to form the possessive case of nouns in the singular, as in fellow's, man's, child's, book's, elf's, and also of plural nouns not ending in s, as in men's, children's, alumni's. (When the singular ends with an s, the possessive is sometimes indicated by the apostrophe above, as Jesus' and goodness' sake)s.,an abbreviation for the following:2. Anatomy. sacral.3. school.4. scribe.5. scruple (weight).6. second or seconds.7. section.8. see.9. series.10. set or sets.11. shilling or shillings.12. a) sign. b) signed.13. silver.14. singular.15. sire (in animal pedigrees).16. solo.17. son or sons.18. soprano.19. a) south. b) southern.20. steel.21. stem.22. status (cloud).23. substantive.24. sun.S (no period),an abbreviation or symbol for the following:1. Saxon.2. Linguistics. sentence.3. a) South. b) Southern.4. specific heat.5. Physics. strangeness.6. sulfur (chemical element).7. Svedberg unit.S.,an abbreviation for the following:3. Sabbath.4. saint.5. Saturday.6. school.7. sea.9. September.10. signor.11. socialist.12. society.13. soprano.14. a) south. b) southern.15. Sunday.16. surplus.* * *
◊ used to form possessivesWhen a singular noun refers to a person or animal, you form the possessive by adding 's....Ralph's voice.
...the President's conduct.
...the princess's aides.
\...the horse's eyes.
When a plural noun ends in `s', you form the possessive by adding an apostrophe (')....my colleagues' offices.
\...their parents' activities.
When a plural noun does not end in `s', you form the possessive by adding 's....women's rights.
\...children's games.
When a name ends in `s', you usually form the possessive by adding 's....Charles's Christmas present.
\...Mrs Jones's dressing-table.
In formal writing, the possessive of a name ending in `s' is sometimes formed by adding an apostrophe (').\...a statue of Prince Charles' grandfather King George VI.
You do not usually add 's to nouns that refer to things. For example, you do not say `the building's front'; you say `the front of the building'. Similarly, you do not say `my bicycle's bell'; you say `the bell on my bicycle'....the bottom of the hill.
\...the end of August.
◊ pronounsYou can add 's to the following pronouns:another, anybody, anyone, everybody, everyone , nobody, no-one, one, other, somebody, someone...one's self-esteem.
...the idea that one person's mind is accessible to another's.
\One side gives in too easily and accepts the other's demands.
The possessive forms of other pronouns are called possessive determiners. For more information about these, see entry at ↑ Possessive determiners.\◊ other uses of possessivesIn British English, you can add 's to a person's name to refer to the house where they live. For example, `I met him at Gwyneth's' means `I met him at Gwyneth's house'.\I'll just nip round to Winnie's and see if she's got any sugar.
British speakers also use words ending in 's to refer to shops. For example, they talk about a `chemist's', a `tobacconist's', or a `greengrocer's'.I found her buying bottles of vitamin tablets at the chemist's.
\I went over the cobbled road to the grocer's.
You can use `be' and a short noun group ending in 's to say who something belongs to. For example, if someone says `Whose is this coat?', you might say `It's my mother's'.\One of the cars was his wife's.
You do not use this construction in formal writing. Instead you use belong to. You also use belong to when you are using several words to refer to someone. For example, you say `It belongs to the man next door'. You do not say `It is the man next door's'.\The painting belongs to a man living in Norfolk.
◊ other uses of 'sApart from its use in possessives, 's has three other uses:\It is used as a shortened form of `is', especially after pronouns.He's a novelist.
It's fantastic.
\There's no hurry.
It is used as a shortened form of `has' when `has' is an auxiliary verb.He's got a problem.
\She's gone home.
It is used as a shortened form of `us' after `let'.\Let's go outside.
For more information about this use, see entry at ↑ let's - let us.\* * *
informal contraction of■ isit's raining
■ hasshe's gone
■ uslet's go
■ doeswhat's he do?
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— used as a contraction of is, was, has, and doesShe's here. [=she is here]
When's [=when was] the last time you ate?
He's [=he has] seen them already.
What's he want? [=what does he want?]
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'S
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
