Contractions

Content code

a2705

Slug (identifier)

contractions

Parent content

English

Grades

Secondaire 1

Secondaire 2

Secondaire 3

Secondaire 4

Secondaire 5

Topic

Anglais

Tags

contractions

negative form

affirmative form

modals

Content

Contenu

Links

Type

Anchor

Title

What Are Contractions?

Anchor

what-are-contractions

Type

Anchor

Title

When to Use Contractions

Anchor

when-to-use-contractions

Type

Anchor

Title

Forming Contractions

Anchor

forming-contractions

Type

Anchor

Title

Common Contraction Lists

Anchor

common-contractions

Title (level 2)

What are Contractions?

Title slug (identifier)

what-are-contractions

Contenu

Content

Corps

Contractions are shortened word forms.

Full Form	Contraction
do not	don’t
you will	you’ll

They are used more often when speaking than writing.

Title (level 2)

When to Use Contractions

Title slug (identifier)

when-to-use-contractions

Contenu

Content

Title (level 3)

Contractions in Writing

Title slug (identifier)

contractions-in-writing

Corps

Use contractions for informal texts like:	Do not use contractions for formal texts like:
✔ emails & text messages	X school assignments
✔ cards	X research papers
✔ notes	X scientific articles
✔ character dialogues	X cover letters
✔ magazine or web articles	X textbooks

Title (level 3)

Contractions in Speaking

Title slug (identifier)

contractions-in-speaking

Corps

Use contractions for casual situations like:	Use some contractions for formal occasions like:	Do not use contractions for official occasions like:
✔ chats with friends/family	± speeches	X events with protocols
✔ dinner parties	± job interviews	X academic lectures
✔ game nights	± hosting a show	X hosting the Nobel Prize
✔ talking to coworkers	± 1st time meeting someone	X official ceremonies

Title (level 2)

Forming Contractions

Title slug (identifier)

forming-contractions

Contenu

Corps

To form contractions:

join words together
remove letter(s)
add apostrophe

Image

Forming contractions: “do not” becomes “don’t”.

Title

Forming Contractions Exercise

Title slug (identifier)

forming-contractions-exercise

Exercice

Forming Contractions Exercise

Largeur de l'exercice

720

Hauteur de l'exercice

720

Title (level 2)

Common Contractions

Title slug (identifier)

common-contractions

Contenu

Title (level 3)

Contractions with to Be

Title slug (identifier)

contractions-with-to-be

Columns number

3 columns

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33% / 33% / 33%

First column

Corps

To be — Simple Present

Affirmative form	Contraction
I am	I’m
you are	you’re
he is she is it is	he’s she’s it’s
we are you are they are	we’re you’re they’re

Second column

Corps

To be + not — Simple Present

Negative form	Contraction
I am not	I’m not
you are not	you’re not	you aren’t
he is not she is not it is not	he’s not she’s not it’s not	he isn’t she isn’t it isn’t
we are not you are not they are not	we’re not you’re not they’re not	we aren’t you aren’t they aren’t

Third column

Corps

To be + not — Simple Past*

Negative form	Contraction
I was not	I wasn’t
you were not	you weren’t
he was not she was not it was not	he wasn’t she wasn’t it wasn’t
we were not you were not they were not	we weren’t you weren’t they weren’t

*In the simple past, the affirmative form of the verb to be is never contracted.

Content

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First column

Image

Examples of the use of the contraction “you’re”.

Second column

Image

Examples of the use of the contractions “aren’t” and “I’m”.

Third column

Image

Examples of the use of the contractions “weren’t” and “wasn’t”.

Title (level 3)

Contractions with to Have

Title slug (identifier)

contractions-with-to-have

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

First column

Corps

To have — Simple Present

Affirmative form	Contraction
I have you have	I've you've
he has she has it has	he's she's it's
we have you have they have	we've you've they've

Second column

Corps

To have + not — Simple Present

Negative form	Contraction
I have not you have not	I haven't you haven't
he has not she has not it has not	he hasn't she hasn't it hasn't
we have not you have not they have not	we haven't you haven't they haven't

Third column

Corps

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2 columns

Format

50% / 50%

First column

Corps

To have — Simple Past

Affirmative form	Contraction
had	I’d he’d they’d Ann’d

Second column

Corps

To have + not — Simple Past

Negative form	Contraction
had not	I hadn't she hadn't we hadn't Ann hadn't

Content

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3 columns

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First column

Image

Examples of the use of the contractions “haven’t” and “I’ve”.

Second column

Image

Examples of the use of the contractions “haven’t” and “I’d”.

Third column

Image

Examples of the use of the contractions “you’d” and “it’s”.

Title (level 3)

Contractions with Auxiliary Verbs

Title slug (identifier)

contractions-with-auxiliary-verbs

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

First column

Corps

Will & Would

Full form	Contraction
will	I’ll you’ll she’ll Keith’ll
would	I’d he’d who’d Ann’d

Second column

Corps

Auxiliaries + not

Full form	Contraction
do not	don’t
does not	doesn’t
did not	didn’t
will not	won’t
cannot	can’t
could not	couldn’t
would not	wouldn’t
should not	shouldn’t
must not	mustn’t

Content

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3 columns

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First column

Image

Examples for the use of the contractions “doesn’t” and “can’t”.

Second column

Image

Examples for the use of the contractions “shouldn’t”, “don’t” and “I’d”.

Third column

Image

Examples for the use of the contractions “I’ll” and “couldn’t”.

Title (level 3)

Contractions with the Same Forms

Title slug (identifier)

contractions-with-the-same-forms

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3 columns

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First column

Corps

Not always contracts to n’t

Full form	Contraction
do not	don’t
are not	aren’t
could not	couldn’t
would not	wouldn’t

Second column

Corps

Is, has & us all contract to ’s

Full form	Contraction
Keith is	Keith's
she is	she's
Ann has	Ann's
let us	let's

Third column

Corps

Had, would & did all contract to ’d

Full form	Contraction
she had	she'd
he had	he'd
I would	I'd
How did…	How'd

Content

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3 columns

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First column

Image

Examples of contractions with the word “not” always ending with “n’t”.

Second column

Image

Examples of contractions always using the form “‘s”.

Third column

Image

Examples of contractions always using the form “‘d”.

Title

Same Forms Contraction Exercise

Title slug (identifier)

same-forms-contraction-exercise

Exercice

Same Forms Contractions

Largeur de l'exercice

720

Hauteur de l'exercice

720

Content

Corps

Some contractions are commonly misspelled because they have homophones. They sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings.
It is the case for:

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First column

Title (level 3)

Your vs. You're

Title slug (identifier)

your-youre

Corps

your	Possessive adjective
your	2nd peron singular/plural
you're	you + are

Second column

Title (level 3)

Its vs. It's

Corps

its	Possessive adjective
	3rd person singular
it's	it + is
	it + has

Third column

Title (level 3)

Whose vs. Who's

Corps

whose	question word asking about ownership
who's	who + is
who's	who + has

Columns number

3 columns

Format

33% / 33% / 33%

First column

Image

Example for the difference between the contraction of “you” & “are” and the possessive adjective “your”.

Description

your coffee → the coffee is yours
you’re coffee → you are coffee

Second column

Image

Example for the difference between the contraction of “it” & “is” and the possessive adjective “its”.

Description

its eyes → the dog’s eyes
it’s an eye → it is an eye

Third column

Image

Example for the difference between the contraction of “who” & “is” and the question word “whose”

Description

Whose painting is this? → Who owns the painting.
Who’s painting this? → Who is using paint.

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

First column

Title (level 3)

Their vs. There vs. They're

Corps

their	Possessive adjective
their	3rd person plural
there	Adverb of place
they're	they + are

Second column

Title (level 3)

Their vs. There's

Corps

theirs	Possessive pronoun
	3rd person plural
there's	there + is
	there + has

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2 columns

Format

50% / 50%

First column

Image

Example for the difference between the contraction of “they” & “are”, the adverb of placement “there” and the possessive adjective “their”.

Description

their cake → it’s Ann and Keith’s cake.
a cake there → the cake is at that place.
they’re cake → They are made of cake.

Second column

Image

Example for the difference between the contraction of “there” & “is” and the possessive pronoun “theirs”.

Description

the paint is theirs → the paint belongs to Ann and Keith.
there’s paint on my t-shirt → the paint is on Keith’s T-shirt

Title

Contractions with Homophones Exercise

Title slug (identifier)

contractions-with-homophones-exercise

Exercice

Contractions with Homophones Exercise

Largeur de l'exercice

720

Hauteur de l'exercice

720

Contenu

Title

For Advanced Users: Contractions Used Mostly in Speaking

Content

Corps

Many contractions are almost always used in speaking.

Contractions like: gonna, wanna or ain’t.

These contractions are informal. They are only used in situations when the speakers are very familiar. Like when talking to friends and family, or classmates and co-workers.

Use informal contractions for casual situations like:	Do not use informal contractions for formal occasions like:	Do not use contractions for official occasions like:
✔ chats with friends/family	X speeches	X events with protocols
✔ dinner parties	X job interviews	X academic lectures
✔ game nights	X hosting a show	X hosting the Nobel Prize
✔ talking to coworkers	X 1st time meeting someone	X official ceremonies

As you have probably noticed, informal contractions do exist in written form. They are acceptable only in a few very informal situations.

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2 columns

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First column

Corps

Use informal contractions for informal texts like:

✔ character dialogues

✔ song lyrics

✔ emails/text messages to friends or family

✔ cards for close friends or family

✔ notes for yourself or friends

Second column

Corps

Do not use informal contractions for formal texts like:

X school assignments

X research papers

X emails/text messages to anyone else

X cards for anyone else

X notes for anyone else

X scientific articles

X cover letters

X textbooks

X magazine or web articles

Title (level 3)

Common Informal Contractions

Corps

Informal contraction	Full form	Example
gonna	going to	I’m gonna be done tomorrow.
gotta	have got to	You gotta work faster.
gotta	have got a	I gotta lot to do, you’re right.
wanna	want to	What do you wanna work on first?
gimme	give me	Gimme a minute to think.
shoulda	should	You shoulda told me you needed help.
coulda	could have	I don’t think I coulda done it without you.
woulda	would have	It woulda taken you longer, for sure.
betcha	bet you	I betcha we’ll finish all the work before tomorrow.
ain’t	am not	That ain’t gonna happen.
	is not
	are not
c’mon	come on	C’mon, you have to believe me.
y’know	you know	You’re always doing things last minute, y’know.
‘cause/’coz	because	But, I will help you ‘cause you’re my friend.
‘round	around	If we work ‘round the clock, we’ll be okay.
‘bout	about	That sounds ‘bout right.
‘n	and	Then we could go for some fish n’ chips.
ol’	old	We could stop by the ol’ seafood place.
kinda	kind of	Good idea: I’m getting kinda hungry.
sorta	sort of	It is getting sorta late.
lotta	a lot of	We still have a lotta work to do though.
-in’	verbs ending in -ing	I guess we’ll be workin’ and not eatin’ then.

Title (level 2)