apostrophe: contractions

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In informal writing, use apostrophes to replace omitted letters in contractions. The most common contractions in English involve verbs.

The contraction ’d is short for the verb had or would:

  • You’d (You had) better pay that bill today.
  • He’d (he had) already left before the others arrived.
  • We’d (we would) like to invite you to our wedding.

The contraction ’ll is short for the verb will or shall:

  • We’ll (We will/shall) see you at the next meeting.
  • They’ll (They will) drive Karen home.

The contraction ’m is short for the verb am and is used only with the subject I:

  • I’m late!
  • I’m doing my best.

The contraction n’t is short for the adverb not; it is attached to a helping verb:

  • They won’t (will not) be here until after 7 p.m.
  • You can’t (cannot) do that.
  • We didn’t (did not) find the keys.

The contraction ’re is short for the verb are:

  • You’re (You are) parked in my spot.
  • We’re (We are) wondering whether to enter the dance contest.

The contraction ’s is short for the verb is or has, or for the pronoun us in Let’s:

  • It’s (It is) the best of its kind.
  • It’s (It is) with fondness that Clara remembers the days of ice fishing with her grandfather.
  • John’s (John is) flying to Toronto this morning.
  • Miriam’s (Miriam has) already left.
  • Let’s (Let us) plan a trip to Banff this winter.

The contraction ’ve is short for the verb have:

  • They’ve (They have) sent us a letter.
  • You should’ve (should have) invited your cousin.
  • Josie couldn’t’ve (could not have) done all that work already!

Note the differences in spelling between these contractions and their homonyms:

  • it’s (it is) vs. its (belonging to it)
  • you’re (you are) vs. your (belonging to you)
  • they’re (they are) vs. their (belonging to them) or there (in that place)
  • who’s (who is) vs. whose (belonging to whom)

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