Contractions — Definition, Grammar, and Examples

Written by

Daniel Bal

February 13, 2024

Edited by

Courtney Adamo

Fact-checked by

Paul Mazzola

What is a contraction?

A contraction is the combination of two words by removing certain letters or sounds. Most contractions include an apostrophe in place of the missing letter(s) when the two words are combined.

Consider the following: are + not = aren't. The apostrophe in "aren't" replaces the removed "o" through the combination of "are" and "not."

The most commonly used contractions typically include auxiliary and modal verbs attached to other words.

Auxiliary Verbs: Also known as helping verbs, auxiliary verbs express the tense, mood, or voice of a sentence's main verb. The main auxiliary verbs include to be (am, is, are), to have (has, have, had), and to do (does, do, did).

Modal Verbs: These types of verbs indicate how, when, or why an action takes place, and they cannot stand alone – they must be used with another verb. The ten modal verbs include the following:

• can

• could

• may

• might

• must

• ought to

• shall

• should

• will

• would

Contraction grammar

The use of contractions is generally avoided when speaking or writing formally. They are typically found in informal writing and everyday speech. When it is appropriate to use a contraction, most standard contractions are formed based on the following combinations:

Subject Pronoun + Verb: The most common type, these contractions combine a subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, we, they, and who) with a verb.

• I am = I'm

• he is = he's

• they are = they're

Interrogative Adverbs: When writing a sentence that asks a question, contractions are used by combining an interrogative adverb (how, when, where, and why) with a verb.

• how is = how's

• what are = what're

• why did = why'd

Verb + "Not": Combining a verb with the word "not" creates a negative contraction.

• do + not = don't

• should + not = shouldn't

• would + not = wouldn't

Informal: Informal contractions in the English language are typically used colloquially and are not considered grammatically correct. Although some incorporate the use of an apostrophe, the majority do not. While people use them in everyday speech, avoid contractions in formal writing, such as academic papers.

• going + to = gonna

• go to = gotta

• kind of = kinda

• want to = wanna

• you all = y'all

• moving = movin'

One contracted form accepted in formal writing is “o’clock” since the shortened form is more well-known than the initial uncontracted phrase “of the clock.”

Contraction examples

The following chart contains some of the most common contractions: