I understand that certain words when used over time are then embraced into the English lexicon. Is "this'll" one of those words?
Examples:
This'll do.
This'll stay in place.
As an insert, this'll be easier to do.
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1From the song American Pie, "Singin' this'll be the day that I die."– Jason BassfordCommented Dec 12, 2018 at 19:16
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Do you really, really mean "proper" English? Do you mean "formal" English, instead? -'ll suffixed words like the above are "correct" but not entirely "formal".– KrisCommented Dec 13, 2018 at 9:25
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@JasonBassford Is singin' "proper" English?– KrisCommented Dec 13, 2018 at 9:25
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It has been "embraced" way long ago.– KrisCommented Dec 14, 2018 at 8:56
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2 Answers
It is a perfectly normal contraction, in daily use by millions of English speakers.
It is also widely used in informal writing. Many people regard contractions of this sort as inappropriate for more formal writing.
Whether you regard it as "a word" or not is up to you.
answered Dec 12, 2018 at 17:39
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1"Whether you regard it as "a word" or not is up to you." Then how is it "perfectly normal contraction"? Or vice versa?– KrisCommented Dec 13, 2018 at 9:27
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@Kris: there is no universally agreed meaning of word. Is a contraction a word? If so, then this'll is one. Commented Dec 14, 2018 at 0:16
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How widely practised is informal writing nowadays? Texting, maybe. Commented Jun 2, 2019 at 17:02
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@EdwinAshworth: Texting, tweeting, emails to friends, Facebook, Whatsapp... Commented Jun 2, 2019 at 18:28
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'Writing' still defaults to the hand-written variety in most of the dictionaries I've checked in. How English 'textspeak' etc are is another matter. Commented Jun 2, 2019 at 18:51
"This'll" is an example of a word that is spoken aloud frequently but is not part of standard written English. Even if one is writing with other contractions (can't, won't, I'll, etc.), "this'll" would not be written down and would instead be expanded as "this will."
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1Hmm. It would never occur to me to expand this'll in a context where I would write he'll. But I concede that the iWeb corpus shows only 3 401 instances of this'll against 1 106 480 of this will - a ratio of 1:325. This compares with 226 568 against 2 916 449 (1:13) for it'll/it will, and 205 744 against 636 339 (1:3) for, he'll/he will. I wonder why this should be. It could be simply that "he will" is more likely to occur in informal contexts than "it will" or "this will" - but I don't know whether that is the case or not. Commented Dec 12, 2018 at 17:52
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4Whence comes the bland statement that this'll "is not part of standard written English"? Is there an index available where this can be looked up, or does one merely bow to the obvious correctness of the view? Commented Dec 12, 2018 at 20:00
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Please give supporting evidence (I've taken the easier option of not doing the large amount of research required, and not venturing an 'answer'.) Commented Jun 2, 2019 at 17:00