How to use English contractions correctly: with word list and examples
| Long form | Contraction/short form |
| we are | we're |
| you are | you're |
| I have | I've |
| it has | it's |
...
Informal one-word contractions.
| Original word | Contraction | Example sentences |
|---|---|---|
| around | 'round | “We'll be coming 'round a little later.” |
When not to use contractions?
You may immediately feel contractions starting. It also may take several days before your body goes into labor, or you may not successfully induce labor using this method. Before trying any at ...
What are some examples of contraction words?
What are some answers for how have you been?
- “Not bad!”
- “Never been better!”
- “Could be better.”
- “A little crazy actually!”
- Hectic!”
- “Busy, busy.”
- “As usual.”
- “I’ve been traveling quite a bit since we saw each other last Christmas.”
What are all the contraction words?
Word: Contraction: Word: Contraction: are not: aren’t: she had: she’d: cannot: can’t: should not: shouldn’t: could not: couldn’t: that is: that’s: did not: didn’t: there is: there’s: do not: don’t: they are: they’re: does not: doesn’t: they have: they’ve: had not: hadn’t: they will: they’ll: have not: haven’t: they would: they’d: he is: he’s: they had: they’d: he has: he’s: was not: wasn’t
Is a contraction considered one word or two?
That’s the point of a contraction: to fuse two words into a single word. Contractions are usually counted as one word instead of two. You can verify this information with any word counter tool. Besides, in an essay, it is not recommended to use contractions. Especially it concerns academic essays, formal letters, and articles.
Can any word be a contraction?
A contraction is a word made by shortening and combining two words. Words like can't (can + not), don't (do + not), and I've (I + have) are all contractions. People use contractions in both speaking and writing.
What is the rule for making contractions?
Writing a contraction properly is simple when you know the general rule of creating contractions. You replace the letters that were removed from the original words with an apostrophe when you make the contraction.
What words can be contracted?
A contraction is a shortened form of a word (or group of words) that omits certain letters or sounds. In most contractions, an apostrophe represents the missing letters. The most common contractions are made up of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words: He would=He'd. I have=I've.
What words are not contractions?
Letters are omitted in the contraction and replaced by an apostrophe. The apostrophe shows where the letters would be if the words were written in full....Examples of contracted words (original two words and contraction / contracted words)do notdon'tthey arethey'rewe willwe'llcannotcan'tdid notdidn't8 more rows
When can you not use a contraction?
Generally speaking, avoid contractions in formal writing, such as business letters, essays, technical papers, and research papers. In other words, don't use contractions in any academic writing unless you're directly quoting someone or in a passage that contains contractions.
Are double contractions grammatically correct?
Lapsed Moderator. Double contractions can be grammatically correct - if all of the grammatically-required words are present, though in a contracted form.
Can you contract there are?
“There's” can also be a contraction of “there has,” as in “There's been some mistake in this bill, clerk!” Remember if you don't contract “there is” that it also can only be used with something singular following. It's not “There is many mistakes in this paper” but “there are many mistakes in this paper.”
Is Let's a contraction?
Let's is a contraction of “let us.” You use it to make suggestions about what you and someone else should do. Let's go to the movies. Let's invite Mom. Lets is the third-person singular present tense form of verb let, which means to allow or give permission.
What is not a contraction form?
They are not is contracted to they aren't or they're not. The isn't / aren't contractions are more common after nouns....Contractions with auxiliary verb and not.aren't=are not (we aren't, you aren't)isn't=is not (she isn't, it isn't)mustn't=must notshan't=shall notshouldn't=should not9 more rows
What is must not in a contraction?
Mustn't, contraction of must not.
Do contractions count as one word?
Do contractions count as one word or two? Contracted words count as the number of words they would be if they were not contracted. For example, isn't, didn't, I'm, I'll are counted as two words (replacing is not, did not, I am, I will).
What is the full meaning of Ain t?
am not, are notAnswer. The word ain't is considered by many to be incorrect or "bad" English but it is common in the very informal speech of some people. It can be used to mean am not, are not, is not, have not, and has not.
What is a contraction in English?
Contractions are shortened word combinations (or forms) that are characterized by the omission of letters and sounds. In English, this is often achieved through the elision (deletion) of certain letters and replacement with an apostrophe (” ‘ “). Contraction words can usually include forms that combine a pronoun and a verb, ...
What does the s contraction mean in a sentence?
It should be noted that the ” ‘s” contraction can be used to indicate a possessive form. For example, “The worker is tall” is contracted to “The worker’s tall” in an auxiliary verb form, but “The lunchbox of the worker” can be contracted to “The worker’s lunchbox” to indicate possession.
What are the two types of contractions?
There are at least two main types of contractions. These types include contracted auxiliary verbs and negative contractions. Another type of contraction word is one that does not include elision and replacement by an apostrophe. This contraction is a simple combination of two words into a new word. For example, “going to” can be contracted ...
Is "to be" a verb?
The verb “to be” can take on many conjugated forms (like “is”, “are”, and “am”). In turn, these conjugated forms can be made into contractions when associated with a noun or pronoun. For example:
What is the first word used in a contraction?
Much less commonly, the first word used in a contraction has one or more letters replaced by an apostrophe; the shortened form of this first word is known as a proclitic, which we’ll look at separately further on.
What is the most common single word contraction?
Appellations. The most common single-word contractions are appellations, which are additional words added to a person’s name. These may be used to indicate respect for a person (known as honorifics) or to indicate a person’s profession, royalty, rank, etc. (known as titles ).
What is the most common contraction?
Two-word contractions are by far the most common, but we cannot simply contract any two adjacent words. Instead, there are certain patterns dictating when and how a pair of words will be combined. Most of the time, it is the second word in the group that is shortened, which is known as an enclitic. Much less commonly, the first word used in a contraction has one or more letters replaced by an apostrophe; the shortened form of this first word is known as a proclitic, which we’ll look at separately further on.
How are contractions formed?
Contractions are formed when words are shortened by omitting one or more letters, which are most often replaced with an apostrophe. Contractions most commonly occur when two words that commonly appear next to each other in a sentence are combined into a new, singular word. Less commonly (predominantly in informal speech and writing), ...
What is the uncontracted form of "let us"?
One of these is the two-word contraction let’s, which is a contraction of the words let us.
What is the shortened form of a word?
The shortened form of the first word is known as a proclitic.
What is the verb "be"?
The verb be is what’s known as a linking verb, which connects the subject of a sentence to an adjective that describes it or another noun that renames it , and it is also used as an auxiliary verb to form the continuous tense of other verbs. Because of how common and ubiquitous the verb is, it is very commonly contracted with the subject of its clause; it can also contract with the question words who, what, where, when, why, and how, though this is slightly less formal.
What is contraction in writing?
A contraction is a word or phrase in English that has been shortened by dropping one or more letters. While writing, an apostrophe is used to indicate the place of the missing letters. Generally, we use Contractions in speech (or written dialogue), informal forms of writing, and where space is at a premium, such as in advertising.
When to use contractions?
Contractions can be used regularly while having a conversation or while we are speaking to each other. In this technique, people are under the impression that the contraction is only used for informal writings. In the case of informal writing, we often rely on contractions to maintain a colloquial tone.
What is a contraction in writing?
Contractions (or short forms) are abbreviated forms of a word or words, from which one or more letters have been left out and replaced by an apostrophe. They're very common in spoken English and many forms of informal writing, and are increasingly accepted in more formal writing.
Why do we use contractions instead of "didn't"?
However, there are varying degrees of formality, and contractions are increasingly accepted in formal writing because they make the writing more natural, and easier to read.
What does "contrahere" mean?
contraction (noun) – from Latin contractus, past participle of contrahere. con- together. trahere – draw. 'draw together'. A contraction, or short form, is an abbreviated form of a word or words, from which one or more letters have been left out and replaced by an apostrophe. They're very common in conversational spoken English.
Is informal writing a conversation?
Informal writing is very much like a spoken conversation because you’re writing as you would speak. So contractions are also very common in informal written English such as personal letters, emails, text messages to close friends and family, and postcards.
Does a fiction writer use contractions?
Fiction writing. Contractions are common in fiction writing, both in dialogue and normal prose. The playwright George Bernard Shaw famously didn’t use the apostrophe for contractions in his fiction writing, preferring to write ‘dont’ instead of ‘don’t’, ‘wouldnt’ instead of ‘wouldn’t’, ‘cant’ instead of ‘can’t’, and so on.
What is contraction in English?
Contractions are shortcuts. When we use them in English we are joining two words together. Then, they become one word. This is not the same as a compound word. In a compound words, both words are joined together with no changes. When we use contractions, we leave out one or more letters of the second word.
Can contractions be positive or negative?
Contractions may be positive or negative. We can also use these words with people’s names and common nouns. We can end a sentence with a negative contraction, but never a positive one. Finally, some common very old or very informal words in English are actually contractions.
What are contractions in English grammar?
English grammar uses contractions or a condensed form of a group of words (or a single word) that leaves out specific letters and sounds. Think of a contraction as a shortcut. Contractions are mostly common with verbs and pronouns.
What are some examples of contractions?
It helps to see examples of contractions so you can apply the correct use and spelling to your writing. Check out a few examples of common and uncommon contractions for your reference.
When to use contractions
Contractions have found their way in everything from essays to classic literature. You just need to know when — and when not — to use them.
How to write a contraction properly?
Writing a contraction properly is simple when you know the general rule of creating contractions. You replace the letters that were removed from the original words with an apostrophe when you make the contraction. If you combine “is” + “not” to form “isn’t,” you remove the “o” from “not” and replace it with an apostrophe.
Why do we use contractions in writing?
Contractions make your writing seem friendly and accessible. They give the appearance that you are actually "talking" to your reader. When writing dialogue in a novel or play, contractions help reflect how a character actually speaks.
Do you need contractions in English?
Technically speaking, contractions aren't necessary in written English. Using the full version of a word is always grammatically correct. However, there are a number of reasons why contractions do serve a valuable stylistic purpose. Contractions make your writing seem friendly and accessible.
Can contractions be used in a sentence?
Contractions can be used in any position in a sentence; however, homophone contractions such as "it's" and " they're" sound better when followed by another word or phrase. The reason is that the sounds of "its" and "it's" and "they're" and "their" are so similar that they can be confusing unless they are used with the context of an additional word.
