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contraction (noun) – from Latin contractus, past participle of contrahere
con- together
trahere – draw
'draw together'

A contraction, or short form, is an abbreviated form of a word or words, from which one or more letters have been left out and replaced by an apostrophe.

They're very common in conversational spoken English.

For example, when speaking informally we usually say words such as ‘I am’ as ‘I'm’, ‘he is’ as ‘he’s’, ‘it is’ as ‘it's’, and ‘we will’ as ‘we'll’.

What about contractions in written English?

Informal writing

Informal writing is very much like a spoken conversation because you’re writing as you would speak. So contractions are also very common in informal written English such as personal letters, emails, text messages to close friends and family, and postcards.

Contractions can also be used in business correspondence such as letters, emails, and email newsletters, where you want to communicate with clients or customers in a friendly, conversational tone.

Blog posts are almost always written in an informal way, as are many longer online articles, and so contractions are common in both.

Depending on your audience, website content such as Home and About pages are also usually written informally.

Fiction writing

Contractions are common in fiction writing, both in dialogue and normal prose.

The playwright George Bernard Shaw famously didn’t use the apostrophe for contractions in his fiction writing, preferring to write ‘dont’ instead of ‘don’t’, ‘wouldnt’ instead of ‘wouldn’t’, ‘cant’ instead of ‘can’t’, and so on.

Equally famously, author Lewis Carroll took things to the other extreme with extra apostrophes; writing ‘ca’n’t’ instead of ‘can’t’, ‘sha’n’t’ instead of ‘shan’t’ (shall not), and so on!

Formal writing

Style guides and recommendations for the use of contractions in formal writing vary, but the general advice is that you shouldn’t use them. So, for example, instead of ‘it’s’, we should use ‘it is’, and instead of ‘didn’t’’, we should use ‘did not’.

However, there are varying degrees of formality, and contractions are increasingly accepted in formal writing because they make the writing more natural, and easier to read.

The best advice is to write in the style most appropriate to your specific audience, and in the style which is required or recommended by the context, profession, business, or institution you’re writing for.

Academic writing

Academic writing, which would normally be included under formal writing, does at times use a more informal tone with some contractions, for example in some course books and scholarly articles.

But for university assignments and research papers you will almost certainly be required to write formally, using long rather than short forms of words.

And of course many other academic texts, technical writing, and legal documents, etc., are also expected to be very precise and formal, with only long forms of words used.

So, what are some of the most common contractions?

Common English Contractions

First of all, and as we said above, in written English the apostrophe ( ’ ) is used to replace the missing letter or letters in contractions.

For example:

• am becomes ’m
• are becomes ’re
• had becomes ’d
• has becomes ’s
• have becomes ’ve
• is becomes ’s
• will becomes ’ll
• would becomes ’d

List of common English contractions

Example sentences using common English contractions

• he'll – he will
  Do you think he'll pass his driving test?
• I'll – I will
  I'll see you next week.
• I'm – I am
  I'm going for a walk.
  I'm hungry - can we eat now, please?
• it's – it is
  It’s freezing outside!
• she'd/he’d – she/he would or she/he had
  a) I wish she'd told me she wasn’t coming. (she had)
  b) Do you think he’d like to come to our party? (he would)

Contractions are used often in negative sentences.

For example:

• aren't – are not
  Why aren’t you answering your phone?
• can't – can not
  I can't find my glasses anywhere.
• didn't - did not
  They didn't tell me the meeting was cancelled.
• hasn't - has not
  He hasn't been in touch for over a month.
• mustn't - must not
  You mustn't be late for work
• shouldn't - should not
  I shouldn't have eaten so much!
• won't – will not
  My husband’s been feeling ill for days, but he won’t go to the doctor.
• wouldn't - would not
  My dad wouldn't let me drive his car.

Questions words + ‘is’

• What's the time? (what is)
• Where's my newspaper? (where is)
• When's your wedding? (when is)
• Who's coming to your wedding? (who is)

Summary

Contractions (or short forms) are abbreviated forms of a word or words, from which one or more letters have been left out and replaced by an apostrophe.

They're very common in spoken English and many forms of informal writing, and are increasingly accepted in more formal writing.

However, in some formal writing such as university assignments it’s still considered inappropriate to include contractions. Write for your audience and your purpose, and follow any guidance you have been given by the profession, business, or institution you’re writing for.