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Contractions For beginners

In this lesson you will learn about contractions like "I'm" and "don't," which combine words. Practice with simple examples and beginner-friendly exercises.

apostropheauxiliary verbscontractionmodals
Contractions in English

What Are Contractions?

Contractions are shortened forms of words, where two words are combined and some letters are removed.

How to Make Contractions?

To make contractions, a single apostrophe is used in place of the removed letter.

Example

I'm here. → I am here.

She's here → She is here.

When To Use Contractions?

Contractions are used in different contexts. Here are some of the main ones:

Contracted 'To Be' Verbs

The various forms of 'to be' verb, including 'am', 'is', and 'are', can be contracted. For example:

Example

She's coming. → She is coming.

We're talking → We are talking

Full form

Contracted form

I am

I'm

you are

you're

it is

it's

he is

he's

she is

she's

we are

we're

they are

they're

Negative Auxiliaries and Modals

'Not' is used to make verbs negative. To use a contracted form of the negative verb, the letter 'o' is removed and an apostrophe is used in its place. This can be done with both modal and auxiliary verbs.

Full form

Contracted form

are not

aren't

is not

isn't

was not

wasn't

were not

weren't

do not/does not

don't/doesn't

did not

didn't

have not/has not

haven't/hasn't

had not

hadn't

Warning!

To use the contracted form of 'I am not', only the 'to be' verb can be contracted, not the negative maker. So the contracted form will be 'I'm not' instead of 'I amn't'.

Modal verbs are also made negative by using 'not'. Like auxiliaries, they can be contracted by removing the letter 'o' from 'not'. For example:

Example

She shouldn't go. → She should not go.

He can't sing. → He cannot sing.

Quiz:

1.

Which is the correct contraction of "we are"?

A

we'are

B

were

C

we're

D

we'r

2.

Which sentence contains a correct contraction for "is not"?

A

He isn't tired.

B

He is not tired.

C

He'sn't tired.

D

He isn't not tired.

3.

Sort the words to form a correct sentence.

but
she
.
says
happy
she's
isn't
she
4.

Fill in the blank with the correct contraction

He

going to the store. (is)

I

believe this is happening. (cannot)

We

going to the park tomorrow. (are)

I

like this movie. (do not)

They

ready to leave now. (are)

She

want to go with you. (does not)

5.

Fill in the table with the correct contracted forms.

Full formContracted form

I am

she is

they are

are not

was not

did not

have not

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