(It's) the morning after Tom Robinson's trial.
1. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." Context: It's the morning after Tom Robinson's trial.
2. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." Context: The morning after Tom Robinson's trial.

Are both sentences correct? Which is more natural? Can I omit the "It's"?

What if I removed the "Context" annotation?
3. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." It's the morning after Tom Robinson's trial.
4. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." The morning after Tom Robinson's trial.

Question

(It's) the morning after Tom Robinson's trial.
1. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." Context: It's the morning after Tom Robinson's trial.
2. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." Context: The morning after Tom Robinson's trial.

Are both sentences correct? Which is more natural? Can I omit the "It's"?

What if I removed the "Context" annotation?
3. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." It's the morning after Tom Robinson's trial.
4. Here is a sentence from "To Kill a Mockingbird." The morning after Tom Robinson's trial.

Answer

Since it’s is short for it is, if you remove it’s, you’re removing the verb and you no longer have a proper sentence. You can do that in certain circumstances, but it doesn’t work here. So in the context you’ve given the first option is the best.

Here’s how you could make it work without it’s. 
Time: The morning after...
It’s really close, but changing the annotation to time makes the connection to the sentence fragment clear enough.

Answers · 1

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