Where's

[irinaofr]

"Where’s all those people gone?"


I wonder what is 'S in the sentence above? IS? IS GONE?

Is it a short conversational way to say:

Where ARE all those people gone? As in "Where's the keys/the shoes" instead of "Where are the keys/the shoes"?

Thank you.

 

[teechar]

"Where’s all those people gone?"

That's bad English. Where did you come across that sentence?
Can you provide a link or describe the broader context?

 

[jutfrank]

The 's could also be has. It's not correct either way, grammatically, of course.

 

[irinaofr]

What would be the correct way of saying, please?

Where ARE all those people gone?

Thanks

 

[teechar]

Where are all those people?
or
Where have all those people gone?

 

[irinaofr]

He's gone.
She's gone.

He has gone.
She has gone.

He is gone?
She is gone?
They are gone?

Wrong?

Thanks.

 

[teechar]

He's gone.
She's gone.

He has gone.
She has gone.

Those are grammatical and natural.

He is gone?
She is gone?
They are gone?

Are those wrong?

They might be acceptable colloquially, but I'm old-fashioned. I would phrase those as follows:

Is he gone?
Is she gone?
Are they gone?

or

He's gone, is he?
She's gone, is she?
They're gone, are they?

Note that"gone" in those means "dead" or that there's no more of it; e.g.,

Vet: He's gone. I'm afraid we couldn't save your dog, Mrs Smith.
or

Customer: Those cakes were delicious.
Baker: I'm afraid we don't have any more. They're gone!

 

[irinaofr]

I am very sorry! It is not what I meant.

I was asking if my sentences were correct or not (sorry for using a question mark the way it confused you!):

1) He is gone.
She is gone.
They are gone.


2) They are gone.
Are they gone?

I believe that 1) and 2) are correct.

3) Where are all those people gone?
Wrong?

4) Where have all those people gone?
Correct.


Like that?

Many thanks!

 

[teechar]

#3 is wrong. For the rest, see my reply in post #7.

 

[irinaofr]

1) A: Where's he? I can't see him.
B: He's gone. He went home 5 min ago.

He's gone=He has gone (and not HE IS GONE).


2) Where are all those people?
They've gone. They went home 5 min ago.

"They are gone" would be incorrect to say meaning "have gone"?
Only to mean that they are dead?

Many thanks!

 

[emsr2d2]

We don't use the contraction "Where's" in A. In that short question, we only use "Where is he?"

 

[irinaofr]

Is the rest in my N10 correct, please?

 

[irinaofr]

1) Where are they? Are they gone?
Yes, they are gone to the movies.

2) I came back, but you were not there. You were gone.

Wrong?

 

[emsr2d2]

2 is OK. 1 is unnatural in BrE.

Where are they? Have they gone?
Yes, they have gone to the movies.

 

[Tdol]

"Where’s all those people gone?"

You will hear things like this in British English- if the singular is easier to say, people will colloquially use it when the plural makes more sense. There's two and other such forms do occur. It's colloquial and I would not recommend using it in an exam or in a formal context.

 

[irinaofr]

1) Where are they? Are they gone?
Yes, they are gone to the movies.

2) I came back, but you were not there. You were gone.

2 is OK. 1 is unnatural in BrE.

Where are they? Have they gone?
Yes, they have gone to the movies.

Interesting, 1) is bad grammar, but 2) is OK



2) I came back, but you were not there. You were gone.

3) I came back but he was not here. He was gone.
4) I came back but they were not here. They were gone.

If 2 is OK, so should be my 3) and 4) ?

Thank you.

And thank you for your patience! I understand that here is the clash of good and bad grammar (but colloquially acceptable).