Contractions!
A contraction is a word or group of words that are condensed (made shorter) by removing a letter or letters. These letters are replaced by apostrophes. For example, say I want to write “I am hungry.” This sentence by itself is fine, but can also be made shorter by making a contraction between the words “I” and “am”. There are three easy steps to make this contraction:
example: I am → I'm
1. Combine the two words together. “I am” → “Iam”
2. Remove the a “Iam” → “Im”*
3. Add an apostrophe in place of the missing letter “Im” → “I’m”
*For each contraction there is a different letter or group of letters that is removed. This depends on the contraction and will be explained later.
Most contractions follow this basic process. However, only certain words can have contractions. There is no contraction for “They must,” for example. “Theym’st” is not a word. There are only certain words that make contractions. As a general rule, the first word in the contraction is usually, but not always, a pronoun (I, he, she, it, who, they, we). This is not always true, but is a good general rule. The second word is usually a verb.
Three Types of Contractions
"To be" Contractions
The first type of contraction is a "to be" contraction. This means the second word in the contraction is am, are, or is. The removed letter in these types of contractions is the first letter of the second word. For example, “he is” becomes “he’s”. A list of these contractions is below, and all special contractions that do not follow these listed with an asterisk (*).
I’m (I am)
he’s (he is)
she’s (she is)
it’s (it is)
what’s (what is)
that’s (that is)
who’s (who is)
there’s (there is)
here’s (here is)
one’s (one is)
where’s (where is)
you’re (you are)
we’re (we are)
they’re (they are)
there’re (there are)
"Have" Contractions
The second type of contraction is a "have" contraction. The second word in all of these contractions is a have verb: have, has, or had. For these contractions both the h and the a in have, has, or had are removed. For example, “I have” becomes “I’ve”. Be careful for contractions with has because they are spelled the same as contractions with is. “It’s” can mean either “it has” or “it is”. All would contractions where would is the second word in the contraction also fall into this category. For these contractions, all letters in would are removed except for the d. For example, “I would” becomes “I’d”. Again, be careful because “I’d” can mean either “I had” or “I would”. All special contractions that do not follow these rules are listed with an asterisk (*).
I’ve (I have)
you’ve (you have)
we’ve (we have)
they’ve (they have)
could’ve (could have)
would’ve (would have)
should’ve (should have)
might’ve (might have)
who’ve (who have)
he’s (he is)
she’s (she is)
it’s (it is)
what’s (what is)
that’s (that is)
who’s (who is)
there’s (there is)
one’s (one is)
where’s (where is)
I’d (I had or I would)
you’d (you had or you would)
he’d (he had or he would)
she’d (she had or she would)
we’d (we had or we would)
they’d (they had or they would)
it’d (it had or it would)
there’d (there had or there would)
what’d (what had or what would)
who’d (who had or who would)
that’d (that had or that would)
Future Contractions
The third type of contraction is a future contraction. The second word in these contractions is always will or shall. Again, these are both spelled the same, so be careful. For both of these, everything but the ll at the end of the word is removed. For example, “I will” or “I shall” becomes “I’ll”. As you will see below, not all words form contractions with shall. Some words only form contractions with will and not shall. All special contractions that do not follow these rules are listed with an asterisk (*).
I’ll (I will or I shall)
you’ll (you will or you shall)
she’ll (she will or she shall)
he’ll (he will or he shall)
we’ll (we will or we shall)
it’ll (it will or it shall)
they’ll (they will or they shall)
that’ll (that will or that shall)
these’ll (these will)
those’ll (those will)
there’ll (there will)
this’ll (this will)
what’ll (what will)
who’ll (who will)
The last type of contraction is a not contraction. These are different than the rest because the second word is not a verb, but instead it is the word not. The first word can be any of the verbs covered above (are, is, have, has, had, would, will, shall) plus a few others. Usually in these contractions the removed letter is the o in not. For example, to make a contraction between “are” and “not”, the correct contraction is “aren’t”. All special contractions that do not follow these rules have an asterisk (*).
aren’t (are not)
isn’t (is not)
haven’t (have not)
hasn’t (has not)
hadn’t (had not)
wouldn’t (would not)
won’t* (will not)
shan’t* (shall not)
couldn’t (could not)
mightn’t (might not)
oughtn’t (ought not)
shouldn’t (should not)
didn’t (did not)
doesn’t (does not)
don’t (do not)
can’t (can not)
mustn’t (must not)
needn’t (need not)
These are all the common contractions that are used regularly in the English language. One other type of contraction that is very uncommon is the double contraction, where there are three words connected by two apostrophes. For example, “we’d’ve” is a contraction for “we would have”. However, these are uncommon and you will not likely encounter many of them in writing or speaking.
Contraction Practice Activity
Fill in the blank with the correct contraction.
At the Park Part I
Today (I’m/ I’d)________ going to the park. (I’ll/ I’m)_______ bringing my friend John, and (we’d/ we’re)_______ going to walk to the park together. John and I (haven’t/ wouldn’t)________ seen each other in a long time. I (aren’t/ can’t)_______ wait to go to the park!
After At The Park Part I
(Me and John/ John and I ) (BONUS) walked to the park together. The walk was long and tiring, but we (didn’t/ aren’t)_______ complain. When we got there, we were exhausted. We (couldn’t/ isn’t) _______ play many games. The trip (didn’t/ wasn’t)_______ as fun as I thought (it’d/ it’s)_________ be. (I’m/ I’ll)______ still very glad I got to see John though.
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Answers: I’m, I’m, we’re, haven’t, can’t, John and I (BONUS), didn’t, couldn’t, wasn’t, it’d, I’m
example: I am → I'm
1. Combine the two words together. “I am” → “Iam”
2. Remove the a “Iam” → “Im”*
3. Add an apostrophe in place of the missing letter “Im” → “I’m”
*For each contraction there is a different letter or group of letters that is removed. This depends on the contraction and will be explained later.
Most contractions follow this basic process. However, only certain words can have contractions. There is no contraction for “They must,” for example. “Theym’st” is not a word. There are only certain words that make contractions. As a general rule, the first word in the contraction is usually, but not always, a pronoun (I, he, she, it, who, they, we). This is not always true, but is a good general rule. The second word is usually a verb.
Three Types of Contractions
"To be" Contractions
The first type of contraction is a "to be" contraction. This means the second word in the contraction is am, are, or is. The removed letter in these types of contractions is the first letter of the second word. For example, “he is” becomes “he’s”. A list of these contractions is below, and all special contractions that do not follow these listed with an asterisk (*).
I’m (I am)
he’s (he is)
she’s (she is)
it’s (it is)
what’s (what is)
that’s (that is)
who’s (who is)
there’s (there is)
here’s (here is)
one’s (one is)
where’s (where is)
you’re (you are)
we’re (we are)
they’re (they are)
there’re (there are)
"Have" Contractions
The second type of contraction is a "have" contraction. The second word in all of these contractions is a have verb: have, has, or had. For these contractions both the h and the a in have, has, or had are removed. For example, “I have” becomes “I’ve”. Be careful for contractions with has because they are spelled the same as contractions with is. “It’s” can mean either “it has” or “it is”. All would contractions where would is the second word in the contraction also fall into this category. For these contractions, all letters in would are removed except for the d. For example, “I would” becomes “I’d”. Again, be careful because “I’d” can mean either “I had” or “I would”. All special contractions that do not follow these rules are listed with an asterisk (*).
I’ve (I have)
you’ve (you have)
we’ve (we have)
they’ve (they have)
could’ve (could have)
would’ve (would have)
should’ve (should have)
might’ve (might have)
who’ve (who have)
he’s (he is)
she’s (she is)
it’s (it is)
what’s (what is)
that’s (that is)
who’s (who is)
there’s (there is)
one’s (one is)
where’s (where is)
I’d (I had or I would)
you’d (you had or you would)
he’d (he had or he would)
she’d (she had or she would)
we’d (we had or we would)
they’d (they had or they would)
it’d (it had or it would)
there’d (there had or there would)
what’d (what had or what would)
who’d (who had or who would)
that’d (that had or that would)
Future Contractions
The third type of contraction is a future contraction. The second word in these contractions is always will or shall. Again, these are both spelled the same, so be careful. For both of these, everything but the ll at the end of the word is removed. For example, “I will” or “I shall” becomes “I’ll”. As you will see below, not all words form contractions with shall. Some words only form contractions with will and not shall. All special contractions that do not follow these rules are listed with an asterisk (*).
I’ll (I will or I shall)
you’ll (you will or you shall)
she’ll (she will or she shall)
he’ll (he will or he shall)
we’ll (we will or we shall)
it’ll (it will or it shall)
they’ll (they will or they shall)
that’ll (that will or that shall)
these’ll (these will)
those’ll (those will)
there’ll (there will)
this’ll (this will)
what’ll (what will)
who’ll (who will)
The last type of contraction is a not contraction. These are different than the rest because the second word is not a verb, but instead it is the word not. The first word can be any of the verbs covered above (are, is, have, has, had, would, will, shall) plus a few others. Usually in these contractions the removed letter is the o in not. For example, to make a contraction between “are” and “not”, the correct contraction is “aren’t”. All special contractions that do not follow these rules have an asterisk (*).
aren’t (are not)
isn’t (is not)
haven’t (have not)
hasn’t (has not)
hadn’t (had not)
wouldn’t (would not)
won’t* (will not)
shan’t* (shall not)
couldn’t (could not)
mightn’t (might not)
oughtn’t (ought not)
shouldn’t (should not)
didn’t (did not)
doesn’t (does not)
don’t (do not)
can’t (can not)
mustn’t (must not)
needn’t (need not)
These are all the common contractions that are used regularly in the English language. One other type of contraction that is very uncommon is the double contraction, where there are three words connected by two apostrophes. For example, “we’d’ve” is a contraction for “we would have”. However, these are uncommon and you will not likely encounter many of them in writing or speaking.
Contraction Practice Activity
Fill in the blank with the correct contraction.
At the Park Part I
Today (I’m/ I’d)________ going to the park. (I’ll/ I’m)_______ bringing my friend John, and (we’d/ we’re)_______ going to walk to the park together. John and I (haven’t/ wouldn’t)________ seen each other in a long time. I (aren’t/ can’t)_______ wait to go to the park!
After At The Park Part I
(Me and John/ John and I ) (BONUS) walked to the park together. The walk was long and tiring, but we (didn’t/ aren’t)_______ complain. When we got there, we were exhausted. We (couldn’t/ isn’t) _______ play many games. The trip (didn’t/ wasn’t)_______ as fun as I thought (it’d/ it’s)_________ be. (I’m/ I’ll)______ still very glad I got to see John though.
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Answers: I’m, I’m, we’re, haven’t, can’t, John and I (BONUS), didn’t, couldn’t, wasn’t, it’d, I’m