Contractions: What They Are and How To Form Them

Contractions are shortened versions of words or phrases formed by omitting certain letters. In writing, an apostrophe indicates the omission. Examples of contractions are:

• cannot = can’t
• you + are = you’re
• would + have = would’ve

What Is a Contraction?

A contraction is when a word or phrase is shortened, creating a new singular word. This is done by omitting certain letters from the word(s). In writing, an apostrophe replaces the omitted letter(s).

Singular words can be contracted. For example, can’t is the contracted version of cannot and ma’am for madam. It’s even possible to combine three or more words (she would have = she’d’ve), although this is only found in colloquial speech and shouldn’t be used in writing.

The most common type of contraction in English is the two-word contraction. This means that two words are combined to create a condensed word. However, you can’t simply combine any two words and call it a day. There are rules that should be followed if you want to use contractions correctly.

LanguageTool’s Grammar Checker can also help ensure you’re using contractions correctly in your writing.

How to Form a Contraction

Most contractions are formed by shortening the second word. The first word used in a contraction can also be shortened, but this is much more common in informal and casual speech or writing.

It’s also important to remember that the apostrophe does not indicate where the space would be found between the two words. Instead, the apostrophe shows where a letter has been excluded.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s go over how to form contractions.

Writing Contractions With Forms of “To Be”

To be is the most common verb in English. It can be a linking verb or an auxiliary verb. It has eight different forms, but only the present simple tense forms—is, am, and are—get contracted.

Is:

Is is used for third-person singular subjects. It’s contracted by replacing the “i” with an apostrophe.

Is is commonly contracted with question words like who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Am:

Am is used for first-person singular subjects and only gets contracted with the pronoun “I.” The apostrophe replaces the “a” in “am.”

Are:

Are is used for second-person singular subjects and first, second, and third-person plural subjects. It is contracted by replacing the “a” with an apostrophe.

• You’re not going to believe what happened.
• We’re visiting my mom in a few days.
• They’re going to be in the Bahamas next week.
• What’re you planning on taking?

It’s important to remember not to end a sentence with a contracted is, am, or are.

Writing Contractions With Other Auxiliary Verbs

There are other auxiliary verbs that can also be contracted: did, have, (including its conjugations has and had), as well as will and would (which are modals).

Did:

Did helps form questions and also expresses negative actions about the past. It can only be contracted with question words (not including when). You contract it by replacing the “di” in “did” with an apostrophe.

Will:

Will has many different uses. It can be used to form future tenses, express ability or willingness, make requests, complete conditional sentences and more. It’s contracted by replacing the letters “wi” with an apostrophe.

Would:

Would is the past-tense of will. However, it does not get contracted with question words. An apostrophe replaces the letters “woul–.”

Have:

Have forms the present perfect tense with any subject (except the third-person singular). It gets contracted by replacing “ha–” with an apostrophe.

Has:

Has forms the present-perfect tense with third-person singular subjects. Use an apostrophe to replace the “ha–.”

Had:

Had forms the past perfect tense for all pronouns, but it does not get contracted with question words. Its contraction is formed by replacing “ha–” with an apostrophe.

Please note that in American English, have, has, and had do not get contracted when they are the main verbs.

However, in British English, this is acceptable, but more commonly heard in casual speech rather than formal writing.

Writing Contractions That Include “Not”

Up until now, you may have noticed that:

• The verb to be commonly gets contracted with the subject of its clauses or with question words.
• The other auxiliary verbs usually contract with personal pronouns or questions words (except has, which can also attach to people’s names).

The adverb “not” can also get contracted, but only with auxiliary verbs.

Modal auxiliary verbs can also get contracted with “not.”

Shall and might can also get contracted with “not” to create shan’t and mightn’t, respectively, but these words are uncommon and outdated.

Additionally, am usually doesn’t get contracted with “not,” but there are some dialects that do (e.g., amn’t in Irish and Scottish English and ain’t which is sometimes used in American English).

Contractions: Problem Areas

Contractions can be a challenge at first, especially when it comes to remembering which letters to omit and where to place the apostrophe.

But some contractions cause even more confusion—for English language learners and native speakers alike—because they’re homophones.

Take for example it’s and its. Many people mistakenly add an apostrophe even though they want to show possession: in that case, use its.

Similarly, they’re, there, and their also cause a lot of confusion as does let’s and lets.

Remember, only use they’re when you mean “they are.”

Let’s means “let us” while lets is how to conjugate the verb let for third-person singular subjects. However, be careful when using “let’s,” as it’s only used to express a request or suggestion.

If you’re using “let” meaning “give permission” or “to cause,” then use let us.

Don’t Get Discouraged With Contractions; There’s Help Available

As you can see, there’s a lot to remember regarding contractions. Familiarizing yourself with them if you haven’t already done so is a good idea, especially if you want to improve your fluency in speech and writing.

LanguageTool—a multilingual writing assistant—can ensure proper use of all contractions. Additionally, this advanced spelling and grammar checker can check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. It supports more than 30 languages. Give it a try!

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