Contractions in English: Meaning, Usage and Common Examples

You have probably heard someone use phrases like won’t or y’all before. These are examples of contractions in English, they help simplify the language and can be heard on TV and in everyday conversations.

In this post, we will show you useful English contractions along with how to use these contractions in your own speaking and writing, to get you sounding fluent faster.

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What is a Contraction?

In English, a contraction is a shortened version of a pair of words where at least one letter is dropped and an apostrophe ( ’ ) is added. For example, instead of saying “I am,” English speakers frequently use the contraction “I’m.” It has the same meaning, but it is a little shorter.

Contractions help to simplify language. In fact, they’re used everywhere in English, especially in conversational or informal situations.

To recognize English contractions, look for the floating punctuation mark called an apostrophe (“I’m”), which appears in most common English contractions. 

For instance, the word “she’ll” (she will) isn’t the same as “shell” (as in, “a shell on the beach”), which has a completely different meaning. 

Most Common Contractions in English

Most contractions in English are made with the following words: be, will, have, had, would, not.

Here are some of the most frequent contractions in English that you should memorize: 

Original	Contraction	Example
I am	I'm	I'm trying to improve my English.
You are	You're	You're such a sweetheart!
He is	He's	He's so handsome.
She is	She's	She's very beautiful.
It is	It's	It's not a problem.
We are	We're	We're probably going to be late.
They are	They're	They're really cute puppies!

Negative contractions are also common:

Original	Contraction	Example
Do not	Don't	I don't know.
Cannot	Can't	You can't have any more cookies.
Will not	Won't	I won't be able to attend the meeting.
Is not	Isn't	That building isn't safe.
Are not	Aren't	They aren't coming to dinner tonight.
Did not	Didn't	I didn't go grocery shopping today.
Have not	Haven't	They haven't seen that movie.
Would not	Wouldn't	My sister wouldn't ride a bike until she was 11 years old.
Should not	Shouldn't	You shouldn't watch too much TV.
Could not	Couldn't	She was so full that she couldn't eat another bite.
Does not	Doesn't	He doesn't understand what you said.
Has not	Hasn't	The mail still hasn't come yet.
Had not	Hadn't	I hadn't thought of that solution.

When to Use Contractions

Most of the time, it is acceptable to use contractions in everyday English. People use them all of the time in both spoken and written English.

However, sometimes contractions are considered less formal than the full phrase. Saying “I can’t help you” is more casual than saying “I cannot help you.”

You generally wouldn’t use contractions in formal writing, like academic papers and legal contracts. For example, contractions like “they’re” and “can’t” sound too informal so you would avoid them there. 

Make sure to always assess the situation to see if using a contraction is appropriate. Most of the time, though, using a standard contraction will be just fine.

Grammar Tips for Contractions

To speak or write confidently with contractions, keep these rules in mind.

1. Do not double up on contractions.

There should only be one apostrophe in a word. For example, “you’re’nt” is not proper English and is just plain weird.

2. With the exception of negative contractions, most contractions cannot go at the end of a sentence.

Make sure to say the entire phrase. For example:

“Is the cold contagious?”

Correct: “The doctor said it is.”

Incorrect: “The doctor said it’s.”

However, negative contractions can end a sentence. Take a look at this example:

Correct: “If he goes to the party, I won’t.” (Here, we get a full understanding of the speaker’s intentions. The speaker will not go to the party.)

Incorrect: “If he goes to the party, I’ll.” (Here, the meaning is unclear. This sentence leaves the listener wondering: “You will what? You will go to the party, or you will avoid him?”)

4. Contractions that sound very much like other words (or homophones) typically are not used at the end of sentences.

These include it’s (sounds like its), they’re (sounds like there or their) and you’re (sounds like your)

For example, if we ask the question: “Are they coming on vacation?”

Correct: “Yes, they are.”

Incorrect: “Yes, they’re.”

Other Useful English Contractions 

Aside from the most common contractions above, there are plenty of other contractions in English: 

English Contractions with “Be”

Original	Contraction	Example
That is	That's	That's awesome!
Here is	Here's	Here's the car I told you about.
There is	There's	There's a fly in my soup!
Who is	Who's	Who's going to the party tonight?
Where is	Where's	Where's my key?
When is	When's	Congratulations! When's the wedding?
Why is	Why's	Why's he looking at me like that?
What is	What's	What's for dinner?
How is	How's	How's the new job?
Everybody is	Everybody's	Everybody's here now!
Nobody is	Nobody's	Looks like nobody's coming to the party.
Something is	Something's	Something's making a funny noise.
So is	So's	I'm done with my food, and so's he.

English Contractions with “Will”

Original	Contraction	Example
I will	I'll	I'll finish the project later.
You will	You'll	You'll regret that!
He will	He'll	He should put on a coat or he'll get sick.
She will	She'll	She'll love her birthday present.
They will	They'll	I hope they'll get home before dark.
It will	It'll	Come to the party! It'll be fun!
We will	We'll	We'll arrive around 3 p.m.
That will	That'll	I'm not sure that'll be enough.
This will	This'll	This'll only take a minute.
These will	These'll	Those are too expensive. These'll work just as well.
There will	There'll	There'll be about 30 people at the meeting.
Where will	Where'll	Where'll you go next?
Who will	Who'll	Who'll take care of you when you get older?
What will	What'll	He lost his job last week. What'll he do now?
How will	How'll	Our phones don't work here. How'll we contact each other?

English Contractions with “Have”

When you use “have” in a contraction, it’s only for talking about something that happened in the past.

Contractions are typically not used when “have” is the main verb showing possession. In other words, you could say I’ve seen that movie (I have seen that movie) but not I’ve a dog (I have a dog).

Original	Contraction	Example
I have	I've	I've been to his house before.
You have	You've	You've been trying to contact her for days.
He has	He's	He's been looking for a new job recently.
She has	She's	She's already booked her hotel room.
We have	We've	We've been wanting to visit for a long time.
They have	They've	They've just arrived.
Should have	Should've	We should've turned left at the last light.
Could have	Could've	She could've scored high on the test, but she didn't study enough.
Would have	Would've	I didn't know you were at the party. I would've said hello!
Might have	Might've	I might've missed the error if you didn't point it out to me.
Must have	Must've	I must've forgotten the extra pens. I'm sorry.
What have	What've	Oh no! What've you done?
What has	What's	What's he been doing lately?
Where have	Where've	Where've they already traveled to?
Where has	Where's	Where's the cat been hiding?
There have	There've	There've been a lot of thunderstorms this summer.
There has	There's	There's been something different about you lately.
These have	These've	Wear your other shoes; these've got mud on them.
Who has	Who's	Who's got the marker?

Notice that the contractions in this table that end with “s” look exactly the same as contractions using “is.” Pay attention to the context of the sentence to understand the difference!

English Contractions with “Would”

Original	Contraction	Example
I would	I'd	I'd love to visit, but plane tickets are expensive.
You would	You'd	I think you'd be a great salesman.
He would	He'd	He'd probably be happier in a different city.
She would	She'd	She'd like to get a dog.
We would	We'd	We'd love to go see that new movie.
They would	They'd	If my parents were here, they'd really like this hotel.
It would	It'd	It'd be cheaper to buy all the tickets together.
That would	That'd	Do you want to go to the circus? I think that'd be a fun experience.
These would	These'd	I love sunflowers! These'd look great in my garden.
There would	There'd	If he doesn't come, then there'd only be five people for dinner.

English Contractions with “Had”

The contractions for “had” and “would” look exactly the same (like “I’d”)!

So how do you tell them apart? It is all about the context.

If it’s followed by a past participle of a verb, it’s most likely “had.” For example: “When she called, I’d been eating.”

There are also some common phrases that use these contractions, like “had better,” which means something should happen or be done. For example: “She’d better call me back later!”

Original	Contraction	Example
I had	I'd	I'd never been to the beach until last summer.
You had	You'd	You'd better come look at this.
He had	He'd	She wanted to go to the movies, but he'd already seen the film.
She had	She'd	After searching for a month, she'd finally found the perfect bag.
We had	We'd	We'd practiced often so that we could win the soccer match.
They had	They'd	They'd already finished cooking by the time we arrived.
There had	There'd	They went to the house that morning, but there'd been no one at home.

Negative Contractions

All of these contractions use the word “not” to form a negative meaning. Here are other negative contractions that weren’t mentioned earlier: 

Original	Contraction	Example
Must not	Mustn't	You mustn't touch that.
Was not	Wasn't	That wasn't a good idea.
Were not	Weren't	Luckily, we weren't hurt in the car accident.
Am not; are not; is not; has not; have not	Ain't	I ain't interested in dance classes.

Note that the word “mustn’t” is most commonly used in British English.

You should also be aware that the word “ain’t” is regional, and is considered slang in many areas.

Miscellaneous Contractions

Original	Contraction	Example
Let us	Let's	Let's go shopping this afternoon.
You all	Y'all	Y'all need to pay attention.
Where did	Where'd	Where'd the dog go?
How did	How'd	How'd you know I was at the library?
Why did	Why'd	Why'd you throw that paper ball at me?
Who did	Who'd	Who'd you see at the store?
When did	When'd	I didn't see you come in! When'd you get here?
What did	What'd	What'd you find?
Good day	G'day	G'day to you!
Madam	Ma'am	Have a good evening, ma'am.
Of the clock	O'clock	It's five o'clock now.

Just like “ain’t,” the word “y’all” is regional and is considered slang in some places.

The contraction “g’day” is mainly used in Australia.

Also, be aware that the words “y’all” and “ain’t” may be considered slang, depending on where you are. Some American dialects consider these acceptable, while in other places and situations, these words are considered very poor English and should be avoided. If you are in an English class, it is probably better to not use these.

How to Practice English Contractions

To master contractions, you will first want to memorize the list provided above. But you also need to be exposed to different speaking styles or dialects.

• For practice, try Wyzant, which has hundreds of English tutors, most of whom are experienced and certified. You choose between in-person lessons or lessons via video call.
• You should also watch YouTube videos and listen to songs from different English-speaking places to hear contractions as used by native speakers. For example, this YouTube video uses the song “Call Me Maybe” to help explain contractions:

• If you want to hear more sophisticated language, watch a movie with very proper English, such as “Pride and Prejudice.” If you want to hear dialects with a lot of contractions and slang, you could try watching the popular TV series “The Walking Dead.”
• Another resource is the language learning program FluentU.

  FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

  You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

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• You can also get some interactive practice with online quizzes. This quiz at Softschools.com has multiple choice questions about English contractions, while another quiz requires you to write the answer. It is very good practice!

 

Now that you have learned the basics of contractions, use these resources and any others you can find to master contractions and improve your English!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)