Identifying Contractions in English

The question asks us to identify the grammatical term for words like it's, there's, and that's. These words are characterized by the use of an apostrophe (') to indicate that letters have been omitted when combining two words.

Understanding Word Formation with Apostrophes

Let's look closely at the examples given:

• it's is a shortened form of "it is" or "it has".
• there's is a shortened form of "there is" or "there has".
• that's is a shortened form of "that is" or "that has".

In each case, the apostrophe replaces the missing letter(s) (e.g., the 'i' in 'is', the 'ha' in 'has'). This specific type of word formation is known as a contraction.

Analyzing the Options

Let's examine the provided options to see why Contraction is the correct term:

• Simile: This is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things using words such as "like" or "as". For example, "He is brave like a lion." This does not fit the description.
• Personification: This is a figure of speech where human qualities or actions are attributed to inanimate objects or animals. For example, "The wind whispered through the trees." This is unrelated to words with omitted letters.
• Contraction: This is a word formed by joining two words or parts of words, where letters are omitted and replaced by an apostrophe. Examples include don't (do not), can't (cannot), and the ones mentioned in the question: it's, there's, that's. This perfectly matches the description.
• Metaphor: This is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable, implying a resemblance without using "like" or "as". For example, "Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks." This is also unrelated.

Therefore, words like it's, there's, and that's, which use an apostrophe to replace omitted letters, are called Contractions.