Pass doors and

I believe there is no word missing in "that's".

 

You are missing the point, but I will allow it to pass as English is obviously not your native language, nor is English usage one of your primary interests.

 

Canis, get real. You know you're wrong. I studied Germanic languages (Dutch/German and English) at university and know very well what I'm talking about here. Every grammarian will tell you the same thing I did: there are four words in "That's not Arcanum." Not three.

That=noun and subject in the sentence
's=contracted form of the verb 'to be' (3rd person singular) and copula in the sentence
not=adverb
Arcanum=noun and predicate in the sentence

And that's the way we do it.

Oh, and by the way: as far as I know, the grammatical analysis of an ellipsis does not take into account implied or missing words. E.g. 'Will do' consists of two words and not the four words which are actually implied (i.e. 'I will do that').

Thank you very much.

 

NO, he cant run out of money. I know an bettre way to get money anyway. I use hexeditor (but never first time I play the game, Im on the secound time).

 

Is English your native language? Because nobody who speaks English would entertain the thought that "that's" is two words. Because it's NOT. Do you see a space between the words? No? Then it's one.

"That's" is a word that means "that is". Like you say, get fucking real.

I'm almost inclined to think you're joking with me, but I'm not feeling that generous today. You're either being thick on purpose, or your grasp of the language is significantly more tenuous than you realize.

 

No, it is not. I am Dutch, but I teach English (literature and linguistics) to sixteen-year-olds at Sint-Janscollege in Antwerp, Belgium. Before that, I worked as an interpreter (English>Dutch and Dutch>English). I think it is fair to say, that English is my second language.

Yesterday, I asked my colleagues what they thought about this little conundrum. Not one of them even assumed that "that's" should be considered a single word. Neither are "you're", "I'll", "we've", "this'll", and so on. A grammatical analysis reveals two words: a noun (or a demonstrative pronoun, for that matter) + a contracted form of a verb.

Now, I know what you will say: what about words like "o'clock" then? Ha!
Let's take two simple sentences:
1. That's cool.
2. It's five o'clock.
The trick is rather simple: change them into interrogative sentences:
1. Is that cool?
2. Is it five o'clock?
Now it becomes quite clear that "that's" consists of two words (as does "it's") and that "o'clock" should be considered a single word.

Still not convinced?
Well then, Canis: if you're so bloody sure that "that's" is a single word, then please do tell me what its word class is? I mean: hey, if it is a single word, like you say it is, it must belong to a word class, right?

I'm waiting impatiently for that answer...