What does "apostrophe s" stand for in "What's it all mean"?

Question

I heard someone on a TV show say:

What's it all mean?

As far as I know, 's could be the short form of has and is. But in this case, it seems more like to be the short form of does. Am I correct?

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 16 '11 at 08:41

12

As the chart of English contractions on Wikipedia points out, 's can be used in place of does (as well as is, has, was and as).

It can also be used to represent the entirely unrelated us, as in let's.

answered Dec 16 '11 at 08:41

Just out of curiosity, could you give me an example in which as has been contracted? – B Faley Dec 16 '11 at 08:50
3

@Meysam got one: We left early, so's not to be late. – Dec 16 '11 at 09:00
1

@Meysam: The non-standard 'That's as maybe' (meaning 'perhaps') can be contracted to 'that's's maybe' - although it would be rarely written other than as dialogue. – Barrie England Dec 16 '11 at 09:03
@BarrieEngland very hard to say that's's :D – B Faley Dec 16 '11 at 09:05
2

@BarrieEngland Now that I think, it's not that hard if the first 's is pronounced 's' and the second is pronounced 'z' – B Faley Dec 16 '11 at 09:07
@Meysam: You're quite right. – Barrie England Dec 16 '11 at 09:17

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 16 '11 at 08:46

You're quite right. I've never thought about it before, or seen it listed, but it is quite common in "What's he do?"

It's not that surprising if you think about it, because the "d" of "does" gets assimilated into the "t" of "what", so it becomes "whattəz" or "whadəz"

What does "apostrophe s" stand for in "What's it all mean"?

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