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Possible Duplicate:
When is it grammatically correct to create a contraction of words followed by “is”?
Using contracted forms (“don't”, “let's”) in a formal text
Should contractions be avoided in formal emails?

My family was having the discussion after finding this (or something similar) in a book:

The store's too far away.

Since this is being spoken, we're unsure whether it's proper English or slang.

Pacerier
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Adam V
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    "For the record, slang is 'very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language.' Contractions [...] are informal, sure, but they are also ordinary, and so are not really slang." — from the top answer to this related question. – RegDwigнt Apr 29 '12 at 15:24

1 Answers1

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It's frequently found in spoken English, but you wouldn't use it in formal writing unless you were writing dialogue. Is that how it appears in the book you were reading?

Barrie England
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  • I think this is wrong. NOUN + 's is no more informal than any other contraction, so any writing form that admits contractions in general should allowthis. – JSBձոգչ Apr 29 '12 at 17:19
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    My impression is that -'s for is or has is rarer than -n't for not in written English. – Henry Apr 29 '12 at 18:02