What Is a Contraction in Grammar Examples

The will does not turn into the will. In fact, the word “will” does not appear at all in the contraction. Just think of it as an irregular contraction (as if we had irregular verbs). A contraction is a word created by shortening and combining two words. Words like can`t, don`t (don`t do + not), and I have are all contractions. Contractions are often made with auxiliary or auxiliary verbs such as being, doing, having and can. We can say “it`s not raining” or “it`s not raining”. But we can`t say, “It`s not raining.” In negative clauses, we have the choice between using negative contractions such as not (n`t) and contracting the pronoun and verb (it`s). But we can`t do both.

The original missing letters are replaced by the apostrophe to indicate where the missing letters should be. These letters do not appear in the contraction (since they have been replaced by the apostrophe). However, if you`re writing an academic paper or something else that`s formal, you might want to avoid contractions. If you`re writing for school, it may be a good idea to ask your teacher if the contractions are okay. The apostrophe always replaces missing letters in a contraction. There are no missing letters in the word everything. A slightly different word and an exception to what has been shown so far is not won – it comes from will + not = won`t. These contractions sound exactly the same with other words, so these errors often occur when writing.

We use contractions every day in both words and writing. Since the contractions are shorter, this also means that they take up less space. For this reason, you will often see them in ads where space is precious. Take, for example, the word is not. This contraction combines words and not. When these two are paired together, the letter o disappears. An apostrophe now takes its place to show where the missing letter was. Similar to the example in the previous section, if you`re confused, use the verbs is or a in your sentence and see if it makes sense to add the apostrophe/make a contraction of it: Don`t judge a book by if the cover doesn`t make sense, so use the possessive “its” without apostrophe. In short, you can use contractions conveniently in more informal writing and on relaxed occasions. It is an apostrophe. Knowing where to place the apostrophe may seem difficult, but there is a fairly simple rule that works with every contraction.

Remember how we said that contractions consist of two words that have been shortened? The apostrophe replaces all the letters contained in the original words but not included in the contraction. The combination of the pronouns I, you, she, he, we, it, and they with the words am, is, and are creates contractions. Here`s how: In the following table, you`ll find a list of over 70 contractions in English. We rely on contractions all the time in a normal conversation. When people talk to each other, they are usually expected to use (can, want, should) use the contractions whenever they can, as this saves time. This article gave an overview of contractions and how to use them in spoken and written English. In informal conversations, contractions with names are quite common (“My father will be home soon”). When writing, however, they are much less frequent than contractions with pronouns as I go, he and she is.

They can put proper names together to signify that they are or have, for example, .B. in the sentence “Shelly comes with us” or “Jeff bought a new computer”. Pay attention to the homonyms of who and who is; The contraction is “who is” or “who has,” and the whole word is possessive, as in “Who is this car?” And of course, if you visit the South, you`ll probably hear the familiar “y`all” for “all of you.” For example, contraction could not mean it could not. As you can see, the o in not is not in the word could not. The apostrophe goes in its place, exactly between n and t. Below are some of the most commonly used and common contractions you will encounter when speaking and writing in English. .