There's/there're

Question

In some movies I heard these:

THERE'S PEOPLE OUT THERE!

THERE'S TWO PARTS.

I'm completely confused. Why not THERE'RE? Grammatically these sentences are incorrect. And yet I heard them!

Please explain to me.

Thanks in advance.

Nona the brit · Accepted Answer

There's is easier to say than there're.  It may not be grammatically correct but it is common in speech.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Good explanation, Nona.  I concur.

Manohonor · Answer

You mean I can say THERE'S instead of THERE'RE on an official briefing and nobody will even
notice that this is wrong?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Say it, yes. Write it there are.

Manohonor · Answer

Thanks you all for this, let's continue the theme:

1)What you looking at?

Why not WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

ARE - is not necessary in speech?

2)She here yet?

Why not IS SHE HERE YET?

IS - is not necessary in speech?

Can I do this with all questions or only wtih some, if with some please tell with which exactly.

I mean, can I say WHAT YOU MEAN? WHAT IT? and so on...

3) What's that tell you?
What's he have to say?

'S = DOES, is it common in speech? Can I leave it out?

Thanks in advance.
Appreciate your time.

Mister Micawber · Answer

We're getting deeper into the realm of colloquial speech and individual opinion, Manohonor-- there are not such rules for what you can say, as there are for what you should write.

(1) To me indicates a lack of a proper education and upbringing. Of course, the extreme reduction of the initial /hwuch?/ may in fact represent 'what are you'. The full sentence should, in any case, be properly pronounced in careful speech, as in your business briefing.

(2) The elision of the initial be- or have-form in a yes-no question is more acceptable and common even in informal written language (I find myself doing it frequently here, and then correcting myself).

You coming?
Anyone seen him?
Had dinner yet?
Caught any fish?

Again, however, not in your business briefing. This style is very casual and familiar.

(3) Apostrophe-s is an accepted contraction of 'does', and is common in general spoken English.

I am sure there are other opinions, however.

Manohonor · Answer

And the same thing happens to

HOW'S THINGS? (Instead of HOW ARE)

HERE'S SOME BOOKS (Instead of HERE ARE)?

Thanks in advance

CalifJim · Answer

How closely you imitate this kind of speech depends on the people you are interacting with. It also depends on how good your English is, even on how good your pronunciation is.

If you don't mimic the sounds exactly and make them "sloppy" in the "right way" -- the way a native English speaker would instinctively do it, then as a non-native speaker, you will probably not sound very authentic and will probably cause people to think you don't know English very well, or worse, you may produce an unintended comic effect. Only you and your teachers can be the judge of whether it's worth the risk. Also, you have to know your conversation partner. You have to be sure that this "tone" will be appropriate with that person.

One of the things that happens in this type of speech is that, in a question, often "do" is dropped, "does" becomes "s", "did" becomes "d". I recommend listening and learning to recognize these passively, but not to use them until you have practiced them thoroughly enough to say them fluently, and you are sure they are appropriate for the situation. Careful observation of other people's language habits can help in this.

Nona the brit · Answer

Use the full versions in writing and in formal speech. The others you should perhaps think of as verbal shortcuts - those who know the territory well might nip down a shortcut rather than take the offical path but it is easy to get lost!

You will never be wrong if you use the fully correct version.

Casi · Answer

In addition to the fabulous advice you've received already,

1)What you looking at? ('are' is necessary for Standard English, which isn't to say that omitting 'are' is incorrect for other dialects of English)

Spoken forms:
What are you looking at?
What're you looking at? ('what' and 'are' contract; the apostrophe (') represents 'a' of 'are')
Whadarya you looking at? ('what', 'are', and 'you' all contract: whad+ar+ya)
Whadaya looking at? ('r' is omitted: whad+a+ya)
Whacha looking at? ('what' and 'you' contract; 'ch' occurs when 't' and 'y' are said together)

2)She here yet? (OK)

Speakers omit sentence-initial "Is" and "Does" because those questions can be expressed by intonation alone.

2b) WHAT YOU MEAN? ('do' is necessary for Standard English)
2c) WHAT IT? ('is' is necessary for Standard English)

3a) What's that tell you? (OK)
3b) What's he have to say? (OK)
3c) What he have to say? (-'s is necessary for spoken Standard English; -'s or 'does' is required for written Standard English).

There's/there're

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