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Hanuman_2000 Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Contractions - two meanings of 'I'd' and 'It's'

Sir,

I'd =I would
I'd = I had

It's= It is

It's=It has

These are very confusing. How one can know that in any given sentence (it's= it is or it has) e.g

It's a pen.= It is a pen.

It's a pen= It has a pen.

Please clear my doubt.

Thanks.

  

Top answer

"I'd" means either "I had " or " I would " in my dictionary (LONGMAN), and so does "It's " which means either "It has " or "It is". The following are examples": I'd 1 the short form of 'I had' I wish I'd said that. 2 the short form of 'I would' I'd leave now if I were you.

— Jacklong

  • "I'd" means either "I had " or " I would " in my dictionary (LONGMAN), and so does "It's " which means either "It has " or "It is".
  • The following are examples": I'd 1 the short form of 'I had' I wish I'd said that.
  • 2 the short form of 'I would' I'd leave now if I were you.
  • It's 1 the short form of 'it is' It's raining.
  • 2 a short form of 'it has' It's been cloudy all day.
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21 Answers
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"I'd" means either "I had " or " I would " in my dictionary (LONGMAN), and so does "It's " which means either "It has " or "It is". The following are examples":
I'd
1
the short form of 'I had'
I wish I'd said that.
2
the short form of 'I would'
I'd leave now if I were you.
It's
1
the short form of 'it is'
It's raining.
2
a short fo
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"it has" cannot contract to "it's" unless "has" co-occurs with a past participle (PP).

"It's a pen" - no PP - It is a pen. - Can't be "It has a pen" - impossible.
"It's been done that way for years" - PP (been) - "It has been done that way for years." - Can't be "It is been ..."
"He's tearing your shirt" - no PP - He is tearing ...
"He's torn your shirt" - PP (torn) - He
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A little thread bump...is it even correct English to say "it's been"? Or is that just a simple result of laziness on behalf of the speaker?
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It is perfectly accceptable to shorten It has been to It's been in speech.

It's been ages since I saw you! I can't imagine a context where anyone would say a formal It has been ages since I saw you.

It's been a while, yes. The usual reply. If they wanted to really emphasise their agreement, they might say 'It HAS been a while, yes'.
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I don't think you can sensibly say "laziness on behalf of the speaker", can you?
on the part of, perhaps.
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Unfortunately "I'd" can in fact have the meaning "I had".

For example, "I'd just finished my homework when the doorbell rang." = "I had just finished my homework when the doorbell rang.", which uses "I'd" as the contraction for "I had". (past perfect)

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0I found that interesting use of a contraction in Stevie Wonder's "Lately" lyrics:02br
02br
01i00Lately, I have had the strangest feeling02br
00With no vivid reason here to find02br
00Yet the thought of losing 01b01font00you's02font02b00 been hanging02br
00'round my mind02
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0Hi,02br
02br
01i00Lately, I have had the strangest feeling02br
00With no vivid reason here to find02br
00Yet the thought of losing 01b01font00you's02font02b00 been hanging02br
00'round my mind02i02br
02br
00Interesting example. But I hope that yo
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite10Hi,12br
12br
11i10Lately, I have had the strangest feeling12br
10With no vivid reason here to find12br
10Yet the thought of losing 11b11font10you's12font12b10 been hanging12br
10'round my mind1
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