What Are Contractions
A contraction is short form of a word or group of words by omitting certain letters or sounds. Usually missing letter is denoted by an apostrophe. The most common contractions are made up of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words:
Examples:
- He would=He’d. I have=I’ve. They are=They’re. You cannot=You can’t.
| Contraction | Uncontracted | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -n’t | Not | Isn’t (is not), hasn’t (has not) |
| -’re | Are | They’re (they are), we’re (we are), you’re (you are) |
| -’d | had, would | She’d (she had, she would), I’d (I had, I would) |
| -’ll | Will | We’ll (we will), you’ll (you will) |
| -’s | Is | He’s (he is), it’s (it is) |
| I’m | I am | — |
| let’s | let us | — |
Other Contractions
Some contractions are less common and part of a particular style of speech. So, writers use them to represent that specific style of speech.
Examples:
- Writers sometimes write somethin’ instead of ‘something’ as people quite often do not pronounce ‘g’ in speech.
- Quite often, in poetry e’er (instead of ever) is written.
- Similarly, y’all (you all), kinda (kind of), gottcha (got you), gonna (going to), wanna (want to) are frequently used contractions.
- Decade names are often contracted as well: the ’60s (the 1960s).
- Such contractions are mostly part of an informal writing and fiction writing. Whereas, in formal writing, such contractions must be avoided to sound more serious and accurate except o’clock.