December 29, 2005: Issue 120
Combine pronouns with verbs and auxiliary verbs to form contractions.
correct: She is an architect.
correct: She’s an architect.
correct: He has built four other homes in the neighborhood.
correct: He’s built four other homes in the neighborhood.
correct: They will soon welcome their third child.
correct: They’ll soon welcome their third child.
But don’t combine nouns and proper nouns with verbs. An apostrophe-s can easily be mistaken for a possessive instead of a contraction for “is,” and other forms are downright clumsy.
incorrect: The home’s been in her family for 120 years.
correct: The home has been in her family for 120 years.
incorrect: Dave’ll try any project once.
correct: Dave will try any project once.
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