A word or phrase that has been condensed by omitting one or more letters is known as a contraction. Using an apostrophe indicates the missing letters in writing. It is common practice to use contractions in speech (written dialogue), informal writing, and in advertising. The most common contractions are made up of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words.

Standard Contractions in English👇🏾

➡️ Contractions using ‘be‘:

Uncontracted	Contraction	Example
I am	I’m	I’m trying to study.
You are	You’re	You’re disturbing me.
He is	He’s	He’s very busy.
She is	She’s	She’s a hard-worker.
They are	They’re	They’re watching a game.
We are	We’re	We’re parked outside.
It is	It’s	It’s raining cats and dogs.
That is	That’s	That’s how you bake a cake.
Here is	Here’s	Here’s the cycle you saw yesterday.
There is	There’s	There’s a woman outside.
Who is	Who’s	Who’s driving me to the airport?
Where is	Where’s	Where’s my lucky charm?
When is	When’s	When’s her birthday?
Why is	Why’s	Why’s that guy staring?
What is	What’s	What’s the day today?
How is	How’s	How’s everybody doing?
Everybody is	Everybody’s	Everybody’s pretty tired.
Nobody is	Nobody’s	Nobody’s watching the movie.
Something is	Something’s	Something’s burning in the kitchen.
So is	So’s	If they’re leaving, so’s he.

➡️ Contractions using ‘will‘:

Uncontracted	Contraction	Example
I will	I’ll	I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
You will	You’ll	You’ll see me soon.
He will	He’ll	He’ll visit you next month.
She will	She’ll	She’ll be in the meeting then.
They will	They’ll	They’ll organise a charity run.
It will	It’ll	It’ll be okay.
We will	We’ll	We’ll leave early.
That will	That’ll	That’ll be more than enough.
This will	This’ll	This’ll only take an hour.
These will	These’ll	These’ll work fine with FDX.
There will	There’ll	There’ll never be enough water.
Where will	Where’ll	Where’ll you get it from?
Who will	Who’ll	I have to leave, who’ll drive me?
What will	What’ll	What’ll you do without a job?
How will	How’ll	How’ll we find each other?

➡️ Contractions using ‘has/have‘:

Uncontracted	Contraction	Example
I have	I’ve	I’ve got to get an alarm clock.
You have	You’ve	You’ve been sad lately.
He has	He’s	He’s secured the first position in his school
She has	She’s	She’s started her own business.
We have	We’ve	We’ve been watching this movie for some time.
They have	They’ve	They’ve been playing the whole day.
Should have	Should’ve	I should’ve cancelled the party.
Could have	Could’ve	I could’ve been a doctor.
Would have	Would’ve	They would’ve laughed on me.
Might have	Might’ve	She might’ve denied your request.
Must have	Must’ve	I must’ve forgotten my mobile.
These have	These’ve	Try different shoes, these’ve got mud on them.
Who has	Who’s	Who’s baked a cake?

➡️ Contractions using ‘would‘:

Uncontracted	Contraction	Example
I would	I’d	I’d love to visit but tickets are too expensive.
You would	You’d	You’d be able to dance well if you start practicing.
He would	He’d	He’d be better off without that group of hooligans.
She would	She’d	She’d like to own a house someday.
We would	We’d	We’d decide about the shop tomorrow.
They would	They’d	They’d be happy to see me.
It would	It’d	It’d be an honour to host you.
That would	That’d	We are going to the circus. That’d be fun!
These would	These’d	These’d look lovely in my room.
There would	There’d	There’d be a shortage of water soon.

➡️ Contractions using ‘not‘:

Uncontracted	Contraction	Example
Do not	Don’t	Don’t disturb your sister!
Cannot	Can’t	I can’t get there on time.
Must not	Mustn’t	You mustn’t lose hope.
Are not	Aren’t	They aren’t going anywhere.
Could not	Couldn’t	I couldn’t clear the exam.
Would not	Wouldn’t	We wouldn’t leave you behind.
Should not	Shouldn’t	You shouldn’t drink and drive.
Is not	Isn’t	She isn’t feeling well.
Does not	Doesn’t	He doesn’t know who his parents are.
Did not	Didn’t	I didn’t complete the assignment.
Has not	Hasn’t	She hasn’t reported for work since day before yesterday.
Had not	Hadn’t	We hadn’t thought of a solution.
Have not	Haven’t	They haven’t been good to me.
Was not	Wasn’t	It wasn’t my fault!
Will not	Won’t	I won’t come to school tomorrow.
Were not	Weren’t	They weren’t interested in poetry.
Am not	Ain’t	I ain’t interested in that kind of drama.

➡️ Other Miscellaneous Contractions:

Uncontracted	Contraction	Example
Let us	Let’s	Let’s join our hands.
Where did	Where’d	Where’d you disappear off to?
How did	How’d	How’d your interview go?
Why did	Why’d	Why’d you blame the fire on me?
Who did	Who’d	Who’d you see when you went to the mall?
What did	What’d	Everything is dark! What’d you do?
Madam	Ma’am	May I come in, ma’am?
Of the clock	O’clock	The meeting will begin at 7 o’clock tomorrow.

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