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San Jose State University
sjsu.edu › writingcenter › docs › handouts › Contractions.pdf pdf
Contractions [pdf]
is often confused with “its,” a possessive pronoun. Remember, ... Contractions, Fall 2011. Rev. Summer 2014. ... Here they are used in sentences.
Discussions

verbs - Does "you're" also qualify as a valid contraction for "you were"? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Bring the best of human thought and AI automation together at your work. Explore Stack Internal ... No, you're, i.e. you are (present tense) is different from you were (past tense). There isn't a common shortening, but it only saves a letter or two! ... But other than "'d" there isn't a case for adding extra words that fit the truncated part. Just because "were" matches the syntax for "'re" doesn't mean you can drop it into the contraction... More on english.stackexchange.com
🌐 english.stackexchange.com
April 11, 2011
You are vs you’re
So weird that this is coming up! Okay, so I'm an editor and I'm part of several very active editor groups on Facebook. People are always posting funny grammatical things and what not (we're essentially just a bunch of word nerds who get together and laugh at lame Chicago Manual of Style jokes...) Recently I saw a post that addressed just this. It was a photo of a tumblr post. The original post was: "Contractions function almost identically to the full two-word phrase, but are only appropriate in some places in a sentence. It's one of the weird quirks of this language we've." And then it just devolved into chaos from there. So someone posted this on one of the editor groups and, being editors, we tried to figure out why sometimes contractions can work at the end of a sentence and why others don't. Like how "don't" fits just fine at the end of the previous sentence, but the original example sounds just awful. We came to the conclusion that contractions at the end of a sentence don't work if the second word in the contraction is a verb ("I'm" being a contraction of "I am," "we've" being a contraction of "we have," etc.) but they do work if it's a "not" contraction, so sentences like "He didn't," "I can't," or "There sure isn't" sound just fine. English is weird and we think we figured it out, but we're almost all positive that there's gotta be some exception somewhere because English loves to bend all the rules ever. Edit: some words More on reddit.com
🌐 r/grammar
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February 26, 2019
grammar - Can I contract "you is" to "you's"? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Not in the sense of "you are", but rather, I'm writing a poem for my girlfriend and I wrote this line: "Loving you's no hassle." I don't want to use anything incorrect, but I also feel like in this case, it works, and I could get away with it even if it is not considered a proper contraction. More on english.stackexchange.com
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November 21, 2022
Help me understand how “aren’t” is a contraction in this type of usage: “You’re him, aren’t you?”
I think it's easier to understand if you remove the introductory clause and just leave it as, "Aren't you him?" It's true that in modern English, we probably wouldn't ask, "Are not you him?" However, it is grammatical. In Shakespeare's The Tempest, Miranda asks, "Sir, are not you my father?" Over time, the "are not you" got contracted and then the phrase "aren't you" became a common confirmatory tag. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/grammar
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June 2, 2024
People also ask

What is the difference between an abbreviation and a contraction?
Abbreviations and contractions are both used to shorten a word, but in different ways. · An abbreviation is formed using the initial letters (or sometimes other parts) of a longer word or phrase to represent the whole. Common examples include “Mr.” for “Mister,” “Dr.” for “Doctor,” and “NASA” for “National Aeronautics and Space Administration.” They are used in formal writing as well as everyday conversations. · A contraction, on the other hand, is formed by combining two words and omitting one or more letters. The deleted letters are replaced with an apostrophe (e.g., “cannot” becomes “can’t”
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scribbr.com
scribbr.com › home › contractions (grammar) | definition & examples
Contractions (Grammar) | Definition & Examples
What are contractions (words)?
Contractions are short words that are made by combining two words. This is often done by deleting certain letters and replacing them with an apostrophe (e.g., “do not” becomes “don’t”). · Although contractions are common in everyday speech, they should generally be avoided in formal or academic writing. However, there are exceptions (e.g., when writing dialogue in a story or directly quoting an author who uses contractions in your paper). · A good rule of thumb is to consider your audience and the intended effect of your writing when deciding whether to use contractions.
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scribbr.com
scribbr.com › home › contractions (grammar) | definition & examples
Contractions (Grammar) | Definition & Examples
What is the difference between a contraction and a portmanteau?
Contractions and portmanteaus are similar in that they are both formed by combining two words and omitting some letters. However, there is a difference between them: · Contractions usually combine two words that are often used together (e.g., “do not” becomes “don’t”). A contraction has the same meaning as its uncontracted form. · A portmanteau is formed by blending two words together to create a new word with a different meaning. For example, “brunch” is a combination of “breakfast” and “lunch.” This is also called a neologism.
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scribbr.com
scribbr.com › home › contractions (grammar) | definition & examples
Contractions (Grammar) | Definition & Examples
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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › grammar & usage › commonly confused › your and you're: rules for usage | merriam-webster
Your and You're: Rules for Usage | Merriam-Webster
July 31, 2023 - You’re is another way of writing two words: ‘you are’ (as in ‘you’re making a mistake’). Your is a single word, and shows possession of a thing (as in ‘your paper has some mistakes’). If you can substitute the words you are then the correct choice is you’re. If you cannot substitute the words you are then you should use your. POV: you're ('you are') looking at your feet (these feet belong to you). You’re is a shortening (also known as a contraction) of you are.
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ABC
abc.net.au › education › learn-english › contractions-with-the-verb-to-be › 11084102
Contractions with the verb 'to be' - ABC Education
May 6, 2019 - They are commonly used in informal written English and spoken English. When forming a contraction with the verb 'to be', we can use the simple present tense of the verb. ... To create a negative statement, we use the adverb 'not' after the contraction. ... For daily English language lessons and tips, like our Learn English Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe to our YouTube ...
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Scribbr
scribbr.com › home › contractions (grammar) | definition & examples
Contractions (Grammar) | Definition & Examples
May 2, 2025 - Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes ... A contraction is a combination of two or more existing words that creates a shorter word. Sometimes, a contraction can be a single word (e.g., “kinda”), but in most cases contractions are formed using words that often go together (e.g., “do not” becomes “don’t”).
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Quora
quora.com › Why-do-some-people-not-use-the-contraction-youre-instead-of-your
Why do some people not use the contraction 'you're' instead of 'your'? - Quora
Answer (1 of 6): It’s likely either ignorance or laziness. When one compares the writing of 100, or even 50, years ago, one can quickly ascertain the apparent decline in the quality of education. In addition to your example, I would add the following; “too,” “to” and “two,” as well as “their,” “t...
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Quick and Dirty Tips
quickanddirtytips.com › home › why does it sound weird to end a sentence with a contraction?
Why Does It Sound Weird to End a Sentence with a Contraction?
March 20, 2025 - “Are” and “am” have turned into just the consonants R and M. These are examples of a weaker-than-weak form that some auxiliary verbs have, a form so weak that it doesn’t even have a vowel of its own anymore, and it has to get one from a so-called host word. In “you’re” and “I’m,” the host words are the “you” and the “I.” The technical term for these super-reduced forms is “clitic,” from the Greek word meaning “to lean,” because these words depend on, or lean on, their hosts. You can also hear auxiliary verb clitics as the final consonant sound in contractions such as “she’s,” “he’d,” “they’ve,” and “we’ll.”
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freeCodeCamp
freecodecamp.org › news › what-is-a-contraction-grammar-and-definition
What is a Contraction? Grammar and Definition
September 20, 2021 - Your are cat is so cuddly! doesn't make sense or sound right, for example. It’s is a contraction – a combinations of it and is or has.
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University of Nevada, Reno
unr.edu › university › writing & speaking center › writing & speaking resources › contractions
Contractions | University Writing & Speaking Center | University of Nevada, Reno
Contractions are a way to mash together two words in order to make them shorter. They also are a way to make your writing seem more conversational and have the reader feel included in the writing. Apostrophes are a necessary when creating contractions; apostrophes replace letters that are dropped from the second word of the contraction.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/grammar › you are vs you’re
r/grammar on Reddit: You are vs you’re
February 26, 2019 -

So I was thinking about sentence structure and a thought occurred to me, would a sentence like this: “You should show what a great artist you’re” Be grammatically correct given the meaning of “you’re”?

Top answer
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So weird that this is coming up! Okay, so I'm an editor and I'm part of several very active editor groups on Facebook. People are always posting funny grammatical things and what not (we're essentially just a bunch of word nerds who get together and laugh at lame Chicago Manual of Style jokes...) Recently I saw a post that addressed just this. It was a photo of a tumblr post. The original post was: "Contractions function almost identically to the full two-word phrase, but are only appropriate in some places in a sentence. It's one of the weird quirks of this language we've." And then it just devolved into chaos from there. So someone posted this on one of the editor groups and, being editors, we tried to figure out why sometimes contractions can work at the end of a sentence and why others don't. Like how "don't" fits just fine at the end of the previous sentence, but the original example sounds just awful. We came to the conclusion that contractions at the end of a sentence don't work if the second word in the contraction is a verb ("I'm" being a contraction of "I am," "we've" being a contraction of "we have," etc.) but they do work if it's a "not" contraction, so sentences like "He didn't," "I can't," or "There sure isn't" sound just fine. English is weird and we think we figured it out, but we're almost all positive that there's gotta be some exception somewhere because English loves to bend all the rules ever. Edit: some words
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We have a FAQ on this topic: https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/wiki/clitics
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Dictionary.com
dictionary.com › e › your-vs-youre
"Your" vs. "You're": How To Choose The Right Word
August 22, 2025 - You’re is a contraction of the phrase you are, as in You’re welcome or You’re my best friend.
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Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-reason-for-using-contractions-like-youre-instead-of-saying-you-are-in-informal-speech
What is the reason for using contractions like 'you're' instead of saying 'you are' in informal speech? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): WHY? Because that is the ESSENCE of “informal speech”. It’s what INFORMAL speech CONSISTS OF: Contractions, Abbreviations, Dialect & Slang words, Work words, “Special words” known to you, and limited to those you know on a more personal basis.
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Learn English
learnenglish.ecenglish.com › lessons › contractions
Contractions | Learn English
We make contractions by connecting two or more words together. One or more letters are removed from the words when they are connected. ... There would → There'd → "There'd have been more people here if the party had been on the weekend." That had → That'd → "That'd better be the last time she calls me." ... Signup to our newsletter "English in your Inbox" to receive your monthly fix of ...
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Wikipedia:List_of_English_contractions
Wikipedia:List of English contractions - Wikipedia
This list is part of the internal Wikipedia Manual of Style. For encyclopedic information see English auxiliaries and contractions. This is a list of contractions used in the Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Abbreviations; these are to be avoided anywhere other than in direct quotations in encyclopedic ...
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Grammarly
grammarly.com › blog › grammar › contractions
What Are Contractions in Writing? Definition and Examples | Grammarly
August 10, 2022 - Contractions are a kind of abbreviation that combines two or more words by removing certain letters and usually adding an apostrophe. Only certain words can be contracted: typically small and common words (not, is/are), especially pronouns (I, he/she/it, they), and modal verbs (can, will, might, must, should, would, could). Even though they represent multiple words, contractions act as a single word. Moreover, contractions all have a definite spelling, which means you can’t just combine words however you like.
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › us › grammar › british-grammar › contractions
Contractions - English Grammar Today - Cambridge Dictionary
Yes, I think we are. ... However, we do use negative contractions at the end of clauses and we do commonly use contractions in tag questions:
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Preply
preply.com › preply language learning hub › learn english online › english writing › contractions in english: how to use them confidently when speaking and writing english
Contractions in English: Correct Use in Speaking & Writing
September 18, 2025 - English speakers often rely on contractions during their everyday conversations and when writing to sound more natural. If you take online English lessons, or have English-speaking friends, you’ll know that contractions are words or phrases that have been combined into a shortened form by ...