I'm not sure where I picked up this habit, but I think it might be grammatically incorrect. I'm a fiction writer and have just started working on a new novel, so I want to clear this up before I get too far in. Here's an example, since the question sounds a bit confusing:
The speaker starts off with: "... Shame that...-"
Instead of: "... It's a shame that...-"
This is how I wrote it: "'Shame that...-"
For some reason, I've picked up the habit of adding an apostrophe at the beginning of an incomplete sentence like that, but I'm not sure if it's just a grammar glitch that my brain contrived randomly or if I saw it used somewhere. Is this incorrect?
Answer
Yes, it is incorrect. As noted on Wikipedia:
It is used in contractions, such as can't from cannot, it's from it is or it has, and I'll from I will or I shall.
It is used in abbreviations, as gov't for government.
The omission of entire words outside of contractions is not possible.
You could write
'Tis a shame that [...]
though, but that is due to a specific accent.
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