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Contractions

Master the art of combining words! Learn how contractions make English more natural and conversational.

What is a Contraction?

A contraction is the combination of two words.

📝 Usage Note

Certain verbs, pronouns, and nouns may be contracted in English. Contractions are used in informal communication.

📋 Complete List of Contractions

❌
Negative Contractions
  • are not → aren't
  • cannot → can't
  • could not → couldn't
  • must not → mustn't
  • will not → won't
🔀
Modal Contractions
  • she would → she'd, he'd
  • they would → they'd
  • we would → we'd
  • I would → I'd
👥
Pronoun + Verb
  • they have → they've
  • we have → we've
  • I have → I've
  • you are → you're
  • she is → she's, he's
  • they are → they're
🔤
Other Contractions
  • David is → David's
  • where is → where's

📐 Contraction Rules

🎯 The Apostrophe Rule
The apostrophe in each contraction replaces a letter or letters.
• do not → don't (apostrophe replaces "o")
• I have → I've (apostrophe replaces "ha")
• she is → she's (apostrophe replaces "i")

⚠️ Important Exception

The one exception is will not (won't), which adds a letter rather than removing letters.

🎯 Practice Exercise

Choose the correct contraction for each sentence!

I believe what happened.
can't
couldn't
won't
shouldn't