FromI +-'s(suffix forming plurals).
I's
- plural ofI(letter of the alphabet or the ego)
- Opinions vary regarding the use of apostrophes when forming the plurals of letters of the alphabet.New Fowler’s Modern English Usage, after noting that the usage has changed, states on page 602 that “after letters an apostrophe is obligatory.” The 17th edition ofThe Chicago Manual of Style states in paragraph 7.15, “To aid comprehension, lowercase letters form the plural with an apostrophe and ans”. TheOxford Style Manual on page 116 advocates the use of common sense.
FromI +'s(contraction ofis,has, andwas).
I's
- (nonstandard, dialectal)Contraction ofI +is.
I's going now.
- (nonstandard, dialectal)Contraction ofIhas.
I's got to go.
- (nonstandard)Contraction ofIwas.
I's going to the store yesterday.
- i's(eye dialect version ofit's (itis), rather thanIis, but is often written the same asI's because it is at the beginning of a sentence.)
FromI +-'s(possessive marker).
I's
- (nonstandard)Synonym ofmy.
This is my husband andI's favorite place to sit.
- When "I" or "me" is used with a conjunction, it is often advised that it is better (more polite) to refer to oneself last. Thus it is more common to saymy husband and I thanI and my husband. In such cases, the prescriptive rule is to use the same case form one would use if there were only one pronoun, thusmy husband and I for a subject of the verb rather than the more colloquialme and my husband.
- I's is a result of adding-'s to the wholenoun phrase rather than, as would traditionally be done, usingmy; theStandard English way of expressing the usage example above is,This is my husband's and my favorite place to sit.
- Compare alsoyour guys's and similar nonstandard but widespread forms.
