Contraction

This is a Teflpedia phonetics article. For simplicity, our articles are presently based on British English and received pronunciation. We trust teachers will adapt the information to their particular situation and/or that of their students.

A contraction is a short form that uses an apostrophe (to indicate that letters have been removed) to combine either the subject and an auxiliary verb, or a auxiliary verb and the word not in its contracted form (-n't).

Contrary to what many people, especially those of older generations, claim, contractions are common and correct in informal speech and writing. They are, however, not usual in formal writing, such as technical writing.

They are commonly used with pronouns (in affirmative forms) and with auxiliary verbs (in negative and interrogative forms). Likewise, they are commonly used with be (in the present tense), and after pronouns, "wh" words, and there/here (see subsections below):

I'm sorry!

They're waiting downstairs.

Who's that?

There's jelly for dessert!

Examples

Affirmative contractions

I am = I'm

You have = You've

There is = There's (see section below)

It is = It's (see section below)

I would = I'd

She will = She'll

Negative contractions

I am not = I'm not (the form I aren't is not standard)

You have not = You haven't

They are not = They're not or They aren't

It is not = It's not or It isn't

I would not = I wouldn't

She will not = She won't

We cannot = We can't (see section below)

Question tags

Am I not? = Aren't I

Do I not? = Don't I?

Have I not? = Haven't I?

Will I not? = Won't I?

Note: The above contractions are also common in negative questions, such as Haven't they replied yet?.

Pronunciation

In many cases where the auxiliary itself is being negated there is a change to the vowel sound - this may vary with dialect.

I will not = I won't /əʊ/

I cannot = I can't /ɑ:/ (see section below)

I shall not = I shan't /ɑ:/

With be

The verb be may sometimes be contracted with the word preceding it or the word following it:

(I am)	I'm _____________, aren't I?	I'm not	*I aren't see note 1 below
(We are)	We're _________, aren't we?	We're not	We aren't
(You are)	You're _________, aren't you?	You're not	You aren't
(She is)	She's __________, isn't she?	She's not	She isn't
(He is)	He's ___________, isn't he?	He's not	He isn't
(It is)	It's ____________, isn't it?	It's not	It isn't
(They are)	They're _______, aren't they?	They're not	They aren't

Note 1

*I aren't is not correct. I'm not is the standard contraction. Likewise, for questions, aren't I? is the standard contraction, although amn't I? may be used in some dialects.

Note 2

The contraction ain't, for am not, are not and is not, although widespread in the 18th century as a contraction for am not and still normal in many dialects and informal speech, is however not standard English and should not be used in formal or written contexts.

Use of 's

Confusingly for many students, at least until they get the hang of it, 's is used as the contracted form of is and has:

It's getting late. (is)

It's been a lovely evening. (has)

He's finished. (has)

He's finished. (is)

She’s ill. (is)

She’s gone. (has)

Use of 'd

Though possibly less frequently than the case of 's (see above), the contraction 'd can be mistaken for either would or had:

I'd been waiting for a long time. (had)

I'd like to see them again. (would)

I’d see a doctor if I were you. (would)

I’d never seen her before. (had)

Can't

It is very important that students take care with the vowel change in "can't" as the final "t" is often lost in phrases such as "I can't tell the difference" and the only way for a listener to decide if the speaker has said "can" or can't" may be through the vowel change. To further complicate the issue, the verb "can" in "I can tell the difference" would probably be pronounced in a different weak form anyway, as /kn/, thus giving students three forms to contend with.

In any case, it's always useful to remind students that they can always fall back on the "full" form cannot in order to avoid any possible confusion.

"Wh" words

We often use contractions (especially ’s for is or has) after question words (who, what, etc) and after that, there, here:

Who’s coming with me? (is)

Who’s finished? (has)

Here’s my bus. (is)

That’s my book. (is)

What’s happened? (has)

Written problems

See main article Confusable

In some cases two spoken forms are pronounced identically but are written differently (homophones).

Students may mistake the contraction ’s for a possessive ’s (or vice versa):

Peter’s here (he is here)

Peter’s car (the car belongs to Peter)

Some words and contractions are often confused, in particular, possessive pronouns do not use an apostrophe:

Your ≠ You're

You're going in your car? (contraction of You are going in your car?)

Is often incorrectly written:

*Your going in your car? or *Your going in you're car?

Whose ≠ Who's

Who's going in whose car? (contraction of Who is going in whose car?)

Is occasionally incorrectly written:

*Whose going in who's car?

Its ≠ It's

Where is the dog? It's gone to its kennel. (contraction of ...It has gone to its kennel.)

Is often incorrectly written:

*Its gone to it's kennel

If in doubt use the expression without contraction.

Other homophones involving contractions include the following: aisle/I'll/isle- eyed/I'd - heel/he'll - we'd/weed - we'll/wheel.

Contracted words

Some words are always written with an apostrophe: o'clock, jack-o'-lantern, will-'o-the-wisp and Hallowe'en (can also be written Halloween).

See also

• Elision
• Weak form