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List of English contractions. This is a list of contractions used in the Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Abbreviations; these are to be avoided anywhere other than in direct quotations in encyclopedic prose. Some acronyms are formed by contraction; these are covered at Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Abbreviations.
May 8, 2023 · Contractions are shortened forms of words or word groups, in which some letters or sounds are omitted. An apostrophe usually marks the omission—for example, do not becomes don’t. Here is a list of 80 standard contractions used in English.
Contractions combine two words into a short form with an apostrophe - I'm, he's, aren't, could've, etc. Learn 50 contractions + examples!
Poetic contractions are contractions of words found in poetry but not commonly used in everyday modern English. Also known as elision or syncope, these contractions are usually used to lower the number of syllables in a particular word in order to adhere to the meter of a composition. [1]
ArchaicModern'tisit is'twasit waso'erovergi'give- Contraction Words
- Contractions List
- Alphabetical List of Contractions
- Informal Contractions List
- When to Use Contraction Words in Writing
What is a Contraction?
Contractions are shortened word combinations (or forms) that are characterized by the omission of letters and sounds. In English, this is often achieved through the elision (deletion) of certain letters and replacement with an apostrophe(” ‘ “). Contraction words can usually include forms that combine a pronounand a verb, or an auxiliary verb and a negative modifier. For example, the usual conjugation structure of the pronoun “I” and the verb “to be” is “I am”. In its contracted form, this co...
Types Of Contractions
There are at least two main types of contractions. These types include contracted auxiliary verbs and negative contractions. Another type of contraction word is one that does not include elision and replacement by an apostrophe. This contraction is a simple combination of two words into a new word. For example, “going to” can be contracted to “gonna”, and “want to” can be contracted to “wanna”. These are informal in nature. Contractions can be used in subject-auxiliary inversion, meaning the...
How to Write Contractions Words
To write contractions, you generally must delete a portion of a word in a two-word phrase (like the “a” in “You are”), close any space between those words, and replace the missing letter with an apostrophe (“You’re”).
List of Contractions of Auxiliaries
The verb “to be” can take on many conjugated forms (like “is”, “are”, and “am”). In turn, these conjugated forms can be made into contractions when associated with a nounor pronoun. For example: 1. “I am” becomes “I’m” (for example, “I’m a teacher”), an ” ‘m ” contraction, 2. “She is” becomes “She’s” (for example, “She’s a doctor”) an ” ‘s ” contraction, 3. “They are” becomes “They’re” (for example, “They’re professionals” or “They’re accountants”) a ” ‘re ” contraction, or 4. “The dog is” be...
Negative Contractions List
These contractions words usually involve taking the “o” out of “not” and replacing it with an apostrophe “n’t”. Examples include: 1. “be” (“is not” contracts to “isn’t”), 2. “have” (“have not” contracts to “haven’t”), 3. “do” (“do not” contracts to “don’t”), 4. “can” (“can not” contracts to “can’t”), 5. “will”, (“will not” contracts to “won’t”), and 6. shall (“should not” contracts to “shouldn’t”). List of negative contractions words: 1. Forms of be: isn’t, aren’t, wasn’t, weren’t 2. Forms of...
Special Cases
1. Let’s forlet us 2. O’ in o’clock
aren’t – are notcan’t – cannotcouldn’t – could notdidn’t – did notSome very informal contractions include words like “ain’t” (am not), “wanna” (want to), “gonna” (going to) — and should be avoided except for very familiar correspondences. They are not generally acceptable for academic or professional use. By considering writing context and your audience, you can avoid informal contraction use and use contractions...
Contractions words are usually used in informal writing. As shortened forms of existing words, they are commonly used in casual writing between friends or colleagues. That said, they can be also acceptable in day-to-day correspondence with superiors or writing articles, fiction, or instructions. Contraction use is strongly discouraged for formal (i...
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May 10, 2023 · A contraction is a shortened form of a word or a phrase in which some letters are omitted and replaced by an apostrophe. Often, two words combine to form one contracted word (e.g., is + not becomes isn’t ), but a single word by itself may be contracted when spoken (e.g., madam becomes ma’am ). Examples of contractions in English.
Contractions are shortened versions of words or phrases formed by omitting certain letters. In writing, an apostroph e indicates the omission. Examples of contractions are: cannot = can’t. you + are = you’re. would + have = would’ve.
