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I real feel confused about ('s) followed by a noun it may be /is / or may be /has / such in this example : she's a baby .

Akram Al-Derwish
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  • It's not usual. If it were, that sentence would be ambiguous: 'She is a baby' vs 'She has a baby'. Contracting the 'is' is what's usually done. – simon at rcl Jul 30 '19 at 15:02
  • I am not certain that your premise is correct "('s) followed by a noun it may be /is / or may be /has /" Typically, 's for has is only for has as an auxiliary verb, followed by a verb: "She's been up all night with the baby" = "She has been up all night with the baby – Damila Jul 30 '19 at 15:07
  • *Only helping verbs contract*. is (to be) is a main verb in: She's a baby. versus She's had [has had] a baby recently. – Lambie Jul 30 '19 at 15:18
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    @simon at rcl: You think it's "not unusual" to contract *She has a baby* to *She's a baby? I disagree. I suggest almost no native speakers would do this in any normal context, since there's a very high probability it would be understood as She IS a baby*. – FumbleFingers Jul 30 '19 at 15:42
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    The contraction is often, idiomatically, an inefficient one. 'She's got a new baby' is how it is worded colloquially. In which case it would have been more concise to say 'She has a new baby'.We are creatures of mimicry and habit, not logic. – Nigel J Jul 30 '19 at 15:46
  • @FumbleFingers - read again I said that it's not usual, and finished saying that contracting 'is' is what's usual. – simon at rcl Jul 31 '19 at 15:07

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