[General] What's he like.

[Anil Giria]

What's he like?

Is "apostrophe S" for is? If so, can I use "does" also?

 

[bhaisahab]

No.

 

[Matthew Wai]

If so, can I use "does" also?

I think it can be used in 'What does he look like?'

 

[teechar]

Is "apostrophe S" for is?

Yes.

If so, can I use "does" also?

No.

 

[teechar]

What does he look like?

That's asking about his looks, whereas "what's he like" asks about his personality.

 

[bhaisahab]

"What's" for "what does" is very poor written English, Matthew.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Mona: May I ask your name?

Raul: Certainly. I am Raul E. Lopez.

Mona: What's the "E" stand for?

Raul: What did you say? That jet plane overhead was very noisy.

Mona: I said: What does the "E" stand for?

Raul: It stands for "Eduardo."

 

[SoothingDave]

Does he want some coffee?

No, he doesn't like coffee.

Oh? What's he like then?

In this example "what's" is a contraction for "what does."

Context, as always, matters.

 

[emsr2d2]

In some colloquial phrases, like the one The Parser gave, "what does" is shortened to "What's" but we don't recommend using it until you are pretty fluent. It's far too easy to get wrong. For now, stick with "What's" for "What is".

 

[alsp]

Not a teacher

You must know what context this appears in, or it is an ambiguous question. What is the context it is being used in? If it's something you are writing, you would want to be more specific or just write out does.

"What's he like to wear?"
"What's he like on his pizza?"
"What's he like to do for fun?"
I think what does sounds more natural in speaking and writing for the first and third examples though, but that's just me.

If you are asking if you can say "what's" instead of "what does" when speaking, yes you can, but you would want to watch what word you stress and possibly be more specific or you run the risk of being misunderstood.

The original question can go either way if you know the context:

Speaker 1: "Have you met Bob?"
Speaker 2: "No. What's he like?" (what is)

S1: "Help me pick out a gift for Henry."
S2: "Okay. What's he like?" (what does)

In speaking "what's" for what does is a little less formal.

 

[Tdol]

I think it can be used in 'What does he look like?'

It can, but you shouldn't shorten it to what's in your sentence.