Contraction of 'that is' or possessive form of 'that.' Used to identify or point to something specific.
Combination of 'that' from Old English 'thæt' (demonstrative pronoun) and the possessive 's or verb 'is.' The demonstrative root traces to Proto-Indo-European meaning 'the one there.'
The humble apostrophe in 'that's' carries enormous grammatical weight, instantly signaling whether we're dealing with possession or contraction. This tiny mark prevents confusion between 'that's mine' (that is mine) and a hypothetical possessive 'thats power' (the power of that thing).
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