I'm wondering if it is okay to use a short form of "to be" after nouns, as in the sentences: "The women 're working", "The birds're singing".
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Those forms are not usually seen. More usually "You're working" where the subject ends in a vowel.– Weather VaneCommented Mar 8 at 12:36
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3What @WeatherVane said. Note that "not usually seen" means we don't usually write that contraction. In actual speech, it's quite natural to reduce are to just a schwa (no /r/) in such contexts.– FumbleFingersCommented Mar 8 at 12:40
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I agree with @FumbleFingers , except that when I do my Ulster or Gracie Fields accents I do hear a distinct 'r' sound.– Michael HarveyCommented Mar 8 at 12:58
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Who says 'Using a Hello!'....?– Michael HarveyCommented Mar 8 at 13:40
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So, if you are writing dialogue for a play, movie or book, the way you have written those is one way to copy (ape) real speech in spelling.– LambieCommented Mar 8 at 14:46
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1 Answer
Collating some comments:
- It's quite common in spoken speech for "are" to be shortened to a single sound and become "attached" in cadence to the preceding word. If the preceding word ends in a vowel they may even be elided much like the contractions "they're" or "we're": in "Hurry, Pa 'n' Ma are comin'!", the "Ma are" might be pronounced like "mar" or "ma-er." Note, this kind of spoken contraction won't be universal; it will be less likely for a region, class, or person that places a high priority on diction, like a butler or orator, and more likely in various rural or colloquial contexts in both Britain, America, and other English-speaking countries.
- It's very rare to represent this in writing. Sometimes authors take extra steps to make spoken patterns visible when they wright dialogue by altering spelling or punctuation, like in the works of Mark Twain or Charles Dickens. For this purpose, what you suggest could be plausible.
- But I would attach the "-re" to the preceding word as if it's a contraction, as you did with "birds're." In your first example, "the women 're working", I read "re" at first by thinking as its own word, meaning "in regards to" as used sometimes in business shorthand or legal contexts.
