Intermediate Grammar A.

6
APPENDICES - CONTRACTIONS - (Review and Expansion)
In spoken English we usually say Im / youve / didnt, etc. (short forms called contractions),
rather than I am / you have / did not, etc. We also use contractions in informal written English
such as in letters to friends, but not in formal written English like in essays for school or
business reports. When we write contractions, we use an apostrophe () for the missing
letter(s).

List of contractions of auxiliary verbs:

s can be is or has:
Hes going away. (=He is going )
Hes gone away. (=He has gone )

d can be would or had:

Id write the letter. (= I would write )
Id written the letter. (= I had written )

We use contractions after the question words (who / what, etc.):

Whos that man over there? (= Who is)
Whats happened? (= What has)
Wheres she heading to? (= Where is)

We can also use contractions after that, there, or here:

Thats a great idea! (= That is)
Heres your change, maam. (= Here is)
Theres a party at Janes tonight. (= There is )

Sometimes we use contractions after nouns:

Daves coming tomorrow. (= Dave is )
My sisters gotten a great job. (= My sister has )

Never use contractions at the end of a sentence or in affirmative short answers:

Are they ready? Yes, they are.
I have no idea who she is.
You are taller than I am.

Negative contractions can be: isnt / arent, wasnt, werent, havent, hasnt, hadnt,
dont, doesnt, cant, wont, couldnt, wouldnt, shouldnt, mustnt, etc.

I A.6 APPENDICES Contractions

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