-'s

-'s

-'s¹

-'s

〚assimilated contr. < ME -es < OE, masc. & neut. gen. sing. inflection〛 suffix

1. forming the possessive singular of most nouns and noun phrases and of some pronouns [a child's game, the defense attorney's case, the Senator from Maine's bill, one's own ideas]

2. forming the possessive plural of nouns whose plural does not end in s [a children's dictionary]

-'s²

suffix

1. is [he's here]

2. has [she's done it]

3. Informal does [what's it matter?]: Used in contractions

-'s³

suffix

us: used with the verb let in the contraction let's

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-'s suff.

Used to form the possessive case of singular nouns, plural nouns that do not end in s, certain pronouns, and phrases that function as nouns or pronouns:

nation's; women's; another's; the girl next door's cat.

  [Middle English -s, -es, from Old English -es, genitive sing. suff.]

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