Contractions: I’ll, don’t, etc
General rules
Contractions are forms like I’ve, don’t, in which an auxiliary verb is combined with another word. There are two kinds.
noun/pronoun, etc + (auxiliary) verb
- I’m tired.
- My father’s not very well.
- Do you know when you’ll arrive?
- Where’s the station?
- I’ve no idea.
- There’s a problem.
- She’d like to talk to you.
- Somebody’s coming.
- Here’s our bus.
(auxiliary) verb + not
- They aren’t ready.
- You won’t be late, will you?
- I haven’t seen him for ages.
- Can’t you swim?
Contractions are formed with auxiliary verbs, and also with be and sometimes have when these are not auxiliary verbs.
The short form ’s (= is/has) can be written after nouns (including proper names), question words, here and now as well as pronouns and unstressed there. The short forms ’ll, ’d and ’re are commonly written after pronouns and unstressed there, but in other cases we more often write the full forms (especially in British English), even if the words would be contracted in pronunciation.
- ‘Your mother will (/ˈmʌðərl/) be surprised’, she said.
- I wondered what had (/ˈwɒtəd/) happened.
Contractions are not usually written with double subjects.
- Jack and I have decided to split up. (not
Jack and I’ve decided …)
The apostrophe (’) goes in the same place as the letters that we leave out: has not = hasn’t (not ha’snt). But note that shan’t (BrE = shall not) and won’t (= ‘will not’) only have one apostrophe each.
Contractions are common and correct in informal writing: they represent the pronunciation of informal speech. They are not generally used in a formal style.
Alternative contractions
Some negative expressions can have two possible contractions. For she had not we can say she hadn’t or she’d not; for he will not we can say he won’t or he’ll not. The two negative forms of be (e.g. she isn’t and she’s not) are both common. With other verbs, forms with n’t (e.g. she hadn’t) are more common in most cases in standard southern British English; they are the only forms normally used in American English. (Forms with not – e.g. she’d not – tend to be more common in northern and Scottish English.)
Double contractions are not normally written: she’sn’t is impossible.
Position
Contractions in the first group (noun / pronoun / question word + auxiliary verb) do not normally come at the ends of clauses. Compare:
- I’m late.
Yes, you are. (notYes, you’re.) - I’ve forgotten.
Yes, you have. (notYes, you’ve.)
Negative contractions can come at the ends of clauses.
- They really aren’t.
- No, I haven’t.
List of contractions
Strong and weak forms (see here) are given where appropriate.
| Contraction | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I’m | /aɪm/ | I am |
| I’ve | /aɪv/ | I have |
| I’ll | /aɪl/ | I will |
| I’d | /aɪd/ | I had/would |
| you’re | /jʊə(r); jɔː(r); jə(r)/ | you are |
| you’ve | /juːv; jəv/ | you have |
| you’ll | /juːl; jəl/ | you will |
| you’d | /juːd; jəd/ | you had/would |
| he’s | /hiːz; hɪz/ | he is/has |
| he’ll | /hiːl; hɪl/ | he will |
| he’d | /hiːd; hɪd/ | he had/would |
| she’s | /ʃiːz; ʃɪz/ | she is/has |
| she’ll | /ʃiːl; ʃɪl/ | she will |
| she’d | /ʃiːd; ʃɪd/ | she had/would |
| it’s | /ɪts/ | it is/has |
| it’d (uncommon) | /ˈɪtəd/ | it had/would |
| we’re | /wɪə(r)/ | we are |
| we’ve | /wiːv; wɪv/ | we have |
| we’ll | /wiːl; wɪl/ | we will |
| we’d | /wiːd; wɪd/ | we had/would |
| they’re | /ðeə(r); ðe(r)/ | they are |
| they’ve | /ðeɪv; ðev/ | they have |
| they’ll | /ðeɪl; ðel/ | they will |
| they’d | /ðeɪd; ðed/ | they had/would |
| there’s | /ðeəz; ðəz/ | there is/has |
| there’ll | /ðeəl; ðəl/ | there will |
| there’d | /ðeəd; ðəd/ | there had/would |
| aren’t | /ɑːnt/ | are not |
| can’t | /kɑːnt/ | cannot |
| couldn’t | /ˈkʊdnt/ | could not |
| daren’t | /deənt/ | dare not |
| didn’t | /ˈdɪdnt/ | did not |
| doesn’t | /ˈdʌznt/ | does not |
| don’t | /dəʊnt/ | do not |
| hadn’t | /ˈhædnt/ | had not |
| hasn’t | /ˈhæznt/ | has not |
| haven’t | /ˈhævnt/ | have not |
| isn’t | /ˈɪznt/ | is not |
| mightn’t | /ˈmaɪtnt/ | might not |
| mustn’t | /ˈmʌsnt/ | must not |
| needn’t | /ˈniːdnt/ | need not |
| oughtn’t | /ˈɔːtnt/ | ought not |
| shan’t | /ʃɑːnt/ | shall not |
| shouldn’t | /ˈʃʊdnt/ | should not |
| usedn’t | /ˈjuːsnt/ | used not |
| wasn’t | /ˈwɒznt/ | was not |
| weren’t | /wɜːnt/ | were not |
| won’t | /wəʊnt/ | will not |
| wouldn’t | /ˈwʊdnt/ | would not |
Notes
- Do not confuse it’s (= it is/has) and its (possessive).
- Am not is only normally contracted in questions to aren’t (/ɑːnt/).
- I’m late, aren’t I?
- Note the difference in pronunciation of can’t in British English (/kɑːnt/) and American English (/kænt/).
- Daren’t, mightn’t, oughtn’t, shan’t and usedn’t are rare, especially in American English; needn’t is rare in American English.
- In non-standard English, ain’t (pronounced /eɪnt/) is used as a contraction of am not, are not, is not, have not and has not.
- I ain’t going to tell him.
- Don’t talk to me like that – you ain’t my boss.
- ‘It’s raining.’ ‘No it ain’t.’
- I ain’t got no more cigarettes.
- James ain’t been here for days.
- For the contraction let’s, (see here).
- May not is not normally contracted: mayn’t is very rare.