List of Contractions
A contraction is a shortened version of the spoken and written forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by the omission of internal letters and sounds.
English has a number of contractions, mostly involving the elision of a vowel (which is replaced by an apostrophe in writing), as in I’m for “I am”, and sometimes other changes as well, as in won’t for “will not” or ain’t for “am not”. These contractions are common in speech and in informal writing but tend to be avoided in more formal writing (with limited exceptions, such as the mandatory form of “o’clock”).
List of Contractions
- aren’t – are not
- can’t – cannot
- couldn’t – could not
- didn’t – did not
- doesn’t – does not
- don’t – do not
- hadn’t – had not
- hasn’t – has not
- haven’t – have not
- he’d – he had; he would
- he’ll – he will; he shall
- he’s – he is; he has
- I’d – I had; I would
- I’ll – I will; I shall
- I’m – I am
- I’ve – I have
- isn’t – is not
- let’s – let us
- mightn’t – might not
- mustn’t – must not
- shan’t – shall not
- she’d – she had; she would
- she’ll – she will; she shall
- she’s – she is; she has
- shouldn’t – should not
- that’s – that is; that has
- there’s – there is; there has
- they’d – they had; they would
- they’ll – they will; they shall
- they’re – they are
- they’ve – they have
- we’d – we had; we would
- we’re – we are
- we’ve – we have
- weren’t – were not
- what’ll – what will; what shall
- what’re – what are
- what’s – what is; what has
- what’ve – what have
- where’s – where is; where has
- who’d – who had; who would
- who’ll – who will; who shall
- who’re – who are
- who’s – who is; who has
- who’ve – who have
- won’t – will not
- wouldn’t – would not
- you’d – you had; you would
- you’ll – you will; you shall
- you’re – you are
- you’ve – you have
Download the List of Contractions PDF using the link given below.
