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Glite Dictionary
he's

he's

1.0
A short form of he is or he has that we use before verbs and adjectives
  • auxiliary
  • /hiːz/
  • Informal
translation icon : él es
  • He's finished his homework and is now watching television.

Examples

  • He's tired after the long journey.

  • He's been working hard all day.

  • He's always ready to help his friends when they need him.

  • I think he's the best player on the team this season.

  • He's always ready to help his friends when they need him.

  • He's finished his homework and is now watching television.

  • He's tired after the long journey.

Idioms

to hit him when he's down
  • Informal
8.2

Say mean things to someone when they are already in trouble

Surface Forms

he's third person singular
hes third person singular
He's third person singular

Morphology

he's = he (transparent) = he + 's

's is a clitic contraction representing 'is' or 'has'; the form is a straightforward contraction of 'he' + auxiliary, though which auxiliary is contracted depends on context.

Etymology

He's is a short form of he + is or has. The apostrophe shows the missing letter, so he's simply means 'he is' or 'he has' and is used when people say the two words quickly.