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There's an ad appearing in the paper lately (in Aus) for Apple's iphone and its siri-thing.

The headline of the add says: "What's my day look like?"

To me that doesn't look like proper english. I would say "What does my day look like" or "What is my day looking like" but not this hybrid between of the two.

Am I correct or can Apple actually spell correctly?

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Why the downvote(s)? – Ben May 14 '12 at 4:22
3  
General reference; look up the definition of "what's" and one finds that it can mean what does. (Not an explanation for the downvote, by the way.) – Mahnax May 14 '12 at 4:22
An advertisement targeted at Australian readers cannot use copy that Australians do not understand and identify with. Bad "copy"? – Kris May 14 '12 at 8:21
I would add to @Mahnax' explanation that the question's use of "spelling" is nonsensical. "What does my day look like" and "what is my day looking like" are not different spellings of "what's my day look like". That's like saying that "automobile" is the correct spelling of "car". You can ask whether the contraction "what's" is grammatical there, but spelling "what's" as "what's" is absolutely correct. (Unlike spelling "English" as "english" or "ad" as "add", I might add.) – RegDwighт♦ May 14 '12 at 9:06

closed as general reference by Mahnax, Matt Эллен, RegDwighт♦ May 14 '12 at 9:07

This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed specifically to find that type of information. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

1 Answer

up vote 5 down vote accepted

In everyday speech people often contract "What does" into "What's" and Apple is performing speech recognition on people's everyday speech patterns- not on grammatically correct textbook writing.

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Is it particular to the US? I've never heard anyone say it in Aus or the UK – Ben May 14 '12 at 3:55
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From what I can tell, Apple is doing quite a good job given that it's hard to wreck a nice beach. – Jim May 14 '12 at 3:56
It could very well be just a US thing. I don't have enough exposure to other English-speaking regions to be able to say for sure. – Jim May 14 '12 at 3:57
I can't really find any reference of does contracting to 's anywhere (plenty on do not). Has anyone got examples of this? – Ben May 14 '12 at 4:07
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@Ben What’s your mom think about all this? – tchrist May 14 '12 at 4:19
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