Contractions in English

One challenging aspect of learning English is that there are different registers: we have spoken English and written English, formal English and informal English. Some words are okay in every register, but others are only okay in speech. Some only sound right in writing. 

Contractions are a big part of distinguishing between these different forms of English. If you ever go to an English-speaking university, you'll find that you can't use can't or don't or isn't in your academic writing. Let's take a look at what contractions are and how they can make your English more or less formal.

What are Contractions?

Contractions are words that combine two or more other words together into a new shortened version, usually using an apostrophe ('). Contractions are very common in spoken English. You have probably heard some of these common contractions: I'm, can't, aren't, don't, didn't

The apostrophe is small, but important. In writing you must use the apostrophe. You do not pronounce it, but it is important in writing. Notice that the apostrophe represents some letters that are missing from the longer form of the word. For instance, the apostrophe in didn't is in place of the O in did not and the apostrophe in I'm  is in the place of the A in I am.

Be careful, because not every word with an apostrophe is a contraction. Possessive nouns in English end with apostrophe -s, (Bob's house, Carla's mom) but these are not contractions.

Why Do We Have Contractions?

Contractions originate in speech. We are lazy when we speak English! When we are speaking quickly, we reduce certain sounds (make them shorter and quieter), and over time we elide them completely (we don't pronounce them at all). So over time, she will becomes she'll, I have becomes I've, going to becomes gonna

When do we use contractions?

This question has a slightly complicated answer.

We frequently use contractions in spoken English, and you should try to use common contractions in your speech to make your English more fluent. We generally do not use any contractions in formal writing (academic papers, for examples).

In between casual speech and formal written English, there is a gray area: we have more formal spoken English, like presentations and business meetings. We have less formal writing, like emails and letters. In this case, you have more of a choice. Some people use contractions and some do not. In this gray area, we should also talk about different types of contractions!

Standard Contractions

Not all contractions are the same. Some are more standard and acceptable than others. Standard contractions include the following:

 

Great poem by Shel Silverstein about informal contractions

  • there's
  • wasn't
  • we'd
  • we'll
  • we're
  • we've
  • weren't
  • won't
  • wouldn't
  • you'd
  • you'll
  • you're
  • he's
  • how'd
  • how's
  • I'd
  • I'm
  • I've
  • isn't
  • let's
  • she'd
  • she'll
  • she's
  • shouldn't
  • aren't
  • can't
  • couldn't
  • didn't
  • doesn't
  • don't
  • hadn't
  • hasn't
  • haven't
  • he'd
  • he'll
  • he's

Some Standard English Contractions

You can use these in anything but formal writing. This means they are common in speech, creative writing, emails, text messages, notes, and letters. Try to pay attention when you are reading online. Are there contractions in what you are reading? If there are no contractions, you are probably reading a more formal style of writing.

 

Nonstandard Contractions

But there are other contractions that are nonstandard. These contractions have evolved more recently and haven't become as acceptable in written English yet. Nonstandard contractions should only be used in very informal situations (text messages with friends, for instance) or to be funny. Here are some examples:

  • gimme

  • gonna

  • gotta

  • hafta

  • I'd've

  • I'm'a

  • must've

  • there're

  • there've

  • those're

  • wanna

  • we'd've

  • what're

  • who'd've

  • why'd

This is not a complete list. People can often get creative and make their own contractions like these, so watch and see if you can identify new contractions!

Nonstandard English Contractions

What is a Free Demo Class, Anyway?

Free Demo Class

You may have seen this button on the Ginseng homepage and wondered, what is a "free demo"?  What happens if I click this button!? Is it really FREE? Are there any strings attached? What happens next? Well, let me see if I can help to answer your questions!

We think our classes are pretty great, but you can't know that this is true unless you try one out, right?! That is where a free demo class comes in. 

Demo is short for demonstration, which means we are showing you something. You might go for a demo, or a test drive, at a car dealership if you're thinking about buying a car, or you could get a free demo of a new computer software that your company is considering buying.

 A "demo class" at Ginseng is a short, 30 minute sample of an online class class. You get to meet one of our teachers, see some of our fancy materials, and check out the follow-up emails we'll send you. 

So, what happens when I actually click that button?

When you click on this button, you will need to fill out a short form and then I will get an alert from you. But wait, who am I?! Great question.

Sarah Hi!

My name is Sarah, and I work for Ginseng. It is my job to help you with pretty much anything that you need from our online English school! You can ask me anything you want about our school, and I will do my best to help you out!

When I receive your free demo request, I will e-mail you to set up a time to video chat 📹 to learn more about what you are looking for. We can talk on Skype, Google Hangouts, WeChat, WhatsApp, Facetime—you name it!

 

 

I'll ask you questions about yourself, like:

  • Where are you from? 
  • How long you've been studying English?
  • Why is learning English important to you?
  • What part of English do you want to study the most? 
  • What time is good for you to have classes?

(It's ok if you don't know, or even if you just want to study EVERYTHING!)

It is up to you to choose what you want your free class to be about. It can be focused on just about anything English, such as pronunciation, grammar, writing and conversation! We will also talk about what times are good for your free class.

After we speak, I will talk to our team here at Ginseng and find you the best online English teacher for your educational goals, and your availability.

But wait, is it really free?

Yes!  Your 30 minute demo class is completely free. If you like what you see, we would love for you to share Ginseng English with your friends, and maybe even sign up for a class or two!

Ok, Now you've got me curious...

Great! So, take a moment to click the "request demo" button and fill out the form.  Soon, you'll be hearing from me! Who knows, we might even become friends! 

👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

3 Steps to Studying with Ginseng

Studying with Ginseng is easy! Click the FREE DEMO CLASS button to request your demo. Then you will get an email from one of our staff to schedule your class. Then just log in and meet your teacher!

Request Demo Class Meet Ginseng Teacher Schedule First Class!
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If have any questions about Ginseng, e-mail me at sarah@ginse.ng

My name is Sarah and I have 8 years of experience working with international students studying in the United States, most recently at Berklee College of Music in Boston. I share your passion for adventure, and am currently traveling through Asia as part of the Ginseng English Anywhere tour! 

 

Simple Past Tense

The simple past is a very common English verb tense used to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. Read about the rules for using it, how we form it, and tons of example sentences!

The Only Letter in English that is Never Silent

We have talked a whole lot about silent letters in English here. Silent B can make you feel dumb. And that damn silent N is terrible! I don't even walk to talk about silent L, folks. Silent G makes me gnash my teeth! 😵

But, as a recent article in Reader's Digest points out, nearly every letter in the English language is silent sometimes. There is only one letter in the language that is never silent. Can you guess what it is?

The letter is V! There are various very valuable v-words, and that V is never silent!

If you're thinking, "Wait, but what about A!? What about X!?" you can check out Wikipedia's list of silent letters from A to Z. (You might notice that they do have something listed under V, but it's the name of a town in Scotland, which isn't exactly an English word in the way we generally think of things.)


More free English resources

The only letter in English that's never silent

The only letter in English that's never silent

Describing People in English

Describing People in English

This article introduces basic vocabulary for describing people in the English language, including adjectives, words for features, and words for clothing items.. This article is appropriate for beginner and low-intermediate ESL students.

Simple Present Tense

The simple present is the most common and useful verb tense in English. It is used to talk about repeated actions and to describe people or states of being. Read about the rules for using the simple present tense, how we form it, and tons of example sentences!

3 Important Aspects of New Vocabulary

3 Important Aspects of New Vocabulary

A big part of learning English is learning new English vocabulary. Most teachers can tell you that it’s very common for students to study all kinds of new vocabulary words and their definitions. They can pass a multiple choice test or match the words to their definitions in an exercise, but when students try to use these words in sentences, their sentences are confusing or incorrect. That's because a word is more than just its definition, more than just denotation.

There are three very important aspects of a new word that you should be sure to learn: denotation, connotation, and collocation.

Denotation

The denotation of a word is its actual meaning, the definition that you will find in the dictionary. Most students know that this is a very important part of learning new vocabulary, but it is not the only thing you need to know.

Connotation

Connotation is a little more difficult. Connotation is a suggestive meaning, the emotions and feelings that a word is connected with. A word can have positive or negative connotations. For example, the words skinny and slender have the same denotation, but skinny generally has a negative connotation (it sounds like too thin), while slender sounds positive and attractive. Another example: the words woman and lady are synonyms, but lady has connotations of elegance and grace, while woman is more neutral. Female is another synonym, but it connotes biology or science. Your mother is a female, but it would be unusual to use that word to describe her.

Collocation

Include information about connotation and collocation when taking notes on new words.

Collocation is another important aspect of words in a language. Some words usually happen with other words. This is collocation. Many students will learn the word party, which is an easy word to understand. But when they make a sentence, they will say make a party or do a party, translating from their own language. In English, though, party collocates with have. In English we have a party. So just learning what the word party means is not enough. We also need to learn the word's collocates.


More free english resources

Silent G Words

If you’re looking for explanations and examples of words with silent G, you’ve come to the right place. Charts, definitions, word lists, and the history of how silent G became silent.

The Most Common English Adjectives

If you want to quickly expand your English vocabulary, adjectives are a great place to start! Adjectives are a really important part of speech. An adjective is a word used to describe a noun.

It is a good idea to focus on the most common ones in the language. Below are lists of the 50 most common words in both American and British English.

50 Most Common Adjectives
🇺🇸 in American English 🇺🇸
No. Adjective
1 OTHER
2 NEW
3 GOOD
4 AMERICAN
5 GREAT
6 BIG
7 HIGH
8 OLD
9 DIFFERENT
10 NATIONAL
11 SMALL
12 LITTLE
13 BLACK
14 IMPORTANT
15 POLITICAL
16 SOCIAL
17 LONG
18 YOUNG
19 RIGHT
20 BEST
21 REAL
22 WHITE
23 PUBLIC
24 SURE
25 ONLY
26 LARGE
27 ABLE
28 HUMAN
29 LOCAL
30 EARLY
31 BAD
32 BETTER
33 ECONOMIC
34 FREE
35 POSSIBLE
36 WHOLE
37 MAJOR
38 MILITARY
39 FEDERAL
40 INTERNATIONAL
41 TRUE
42 FULL
43 HARD
44 SPECIAL
45 RECENT
46 RED
47 OPEN
48 PERSONAL
49 GENERAL
50 CLEAR
50 Most Common Adjectives
🇬🇧 in British English 🇬🇧
No.Adjective
1 OTHER
2 NEW
3 GOOD
4 OLD
5 DIFFERENT
6 LOCAL
7 GREAT
8 SMALL
9 SOCIAL
10 IMPORTANT
11 NATIONAL
12 HIGH
13 BRITISH
14 POSSIBLE
15 LARGE
16 RIGHT
17 LONG
18 LITTLE
19 YOUNG
20 POLITICAL
21 ABLE
22 GENERAL
23 ONLY
24 PUBLIC
25 AVAILABLE
26 FULL
27 EARLY
28 BEST
29 BIG
30 MAIN
31 MAJOR
32 ECONOMIC
33 SURE
34 REAL
35 LIKELY
36 BLACK
37 PARTICULAR
38 INTERNATIONAL
39 SPECIAL
40 DIFFICULT
41 CERTAIN
42 CLEAR
43 WHOLE
44 FURTHER
45 WHITE
46 OPEN
47 EUROPEAN
48 FREE
49 CENTRAL
50 SIMILAR

Most of the most common adjectives are the same in the US and the UK (78% of the top 50 and 92% of the top 25 words appear in both lists). Notice that American is the 4th most common adjective in American English and British is the 13th most common adjective in British English. We shouldn't read too much into these simple lists, but it is interesting to note that militaryfederal, and personal all appear in the American list. Do you notice any other patterns?

That's all for now! Start studying!

If you're looking for something similar, check out the most common verbs in English.


Sources: The primary sources for compiling this article were the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and the British National Corpus.


more free english tips

Squid: A New Way to Read the Ginseng English Blog

We are excited to announce a new way to read the Ginseng English Blog: a news app called Squid. Squid is a news “aggregator.” This means it brings together news articles from different sources around the internet, and puts them together in the same app. You might be able to guess why it's called Squid: the app's " tentacles help you gather all the best articles and navigate through the ocean of news."

You choose topics that interest you—for instance, Sport, Fashion, Food, Training, Psychology, Humor, Lifestyle, Film etc—and Squid makes something like a personal magazine for you. There is even a special section for English learners, called Easy English. This is where you can find posts from Ginseng!

Squid Logo
The Ginseng Blog will appear in your feed under Easy News!

The Ginseng Blog will appear in your feed under Easy News!

You can highlight what you read with Squid

You can highlight what you read with Squid

In many ways, Squid is similar to other news aggregators like Flipboard and Pocket. It selects stories for you. You can save them for later on your reading list or share them to social media. For the polyglots out there, you can switch between languages in one click (language currently supported include English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German).

But there's one really cool feature that sets Squid apart as a tool for learning English: if you tap the Squid in the middle of the toolbar, you will reveal a set of tools for "marking up" the text. You can highlight new words or insert a text field to type in your definitions and translations. There are also some just-for-fun features like squid stickers and a doodling tool.

The app is still in its early stages, and a few of the tools need some updates to be fully useful, but it's a really cool app to check out early!

You can download Squid for iOS or Android.

 


More free English resources

C-V-C Words

The C-V-C Pattern

One of the craziest things about learning English is the relationship between spelling and pronunciation. We don't even need to talk about ought, enough, through, etc, right?

But there are some patterns to learn that can make English a little less crazy. Today let's talk about one of the most important ones: C-V-C words.

But what does C-V-C mean???

I'll tell you. C-V-C means consonant-vowel-consonant. A C-V-C word is a three-letter word that follows the spelling pattern of a consonant, then a vowel, and then another consonant. Remember, vowels are the letters A, E, I, O, U (sometimes Y!), and consonants are all the other letters. For example, top. T is a consonant. O is a vowel. P is a consonant. C-V-C.

Here are some more examples of C-V-C words:

cat
cvc
red
cvc
big
cvc
hop
cvc
bun
cvc

Can you see the pattern? 

Now, why is this important? It is important because if you can recognize a C-V-C word, you can almost certainly pronounce it, even if it's a new word for you! That's because in C-V-C words, the vowel is almost always a "short" vowel.

Check out the list of the short vowel sounds with examples in the chart.

A E I O U

Short Vowel Sounds
Letter IPA Sound Example
A /æ/
cat
E /ɛ/
red
I /ɪ/
big
O /ɒ/
hop
U /ʌ/
bun

Double Consonants and C-V-C Words

There is another reason that consonant-vowel-consonant words are important. This one is a little more difficult.

Maybe you know that in English, we sometimes need to double a letter when we add a suffix like -er, -ed, -ing, and -est. This is important for comparative and superlative adjectives, the simple past tense, and the present progressive. For example mad becomes madder, nap becomes napped, win becomes winning, and big becomes biggest. For these words we have double consonants, but not always: nicer, hoped, mining, poorest. At first, this can be very confusing. When do we double the consonant!? How do we know!? C-V-C words!!! You generally need to double the last consonant when adding a suffix to a C-V-C word. There are some exceptions: generally we do not double the consonants W, X, or Y.

Longer C-V-C words

Above we defined C-V-C words as 3-letter words. That makes sense: C + V + C = 3 letters, right? But actually, there are more C-V-C words. It is really about the end of the words. Any one-syllable word that ends in C-V-C also follows the pattern above. Here are some other examples:

strap
cvc
shred
cvc
c lip
cvc
d rop
cvc
smug
cvc

There is one other type of C-V-C word. All of the C-V-C words so far have been one syllable, and most C-V-C words are only one syllable. But some two-syllable words also follow this pattern. Two-syllable words ending in C-V-C, with the stress on the second syllable also follow the C-V-C pattern. The stress is very important here. There are not many words like this, and most are just a prefix added to a shorter word. Most two syllable words have stress on the first syllable. But when you do find a two-syllable word ending in C-V-C, with the stress on the second syllable, you know that you should double the consonant when adding -ed, -ing, -er, or -est.

entrap
cvc
regret
cvc
sub mit
cvc
de fog
cvc
debug
cvc

Complete list of C-V-C Words

Below is a complete list of words that follow the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern.

C-V-C Words with A

bad, bag, bam, ban, bat, cab, cad, cam, can, cap, cat, cav, dab, dad, dam, dap, fab, fad, fan, fat, fax, gab, gag, gal, gap, gas, gat, had, hag, ham, has, hat, jab, jam, lab, lad, lag, lap, mad, mag, man, mat, max, nab, nag, nap, pad, pal, pan, pat, rad, rag, ram, ran, rap, rat, sac, sad, sag, sap, sat, sax, tab, tad, tag, tan, tap, tar, tat, tax, vac, van, vat, wad, wag, wan, war, was, wax, yak, yam, yap, zag, zap

C-V-C Words with E

bed, beg, bet, cel, den, fed, fen, fez, gel, gem, get, hem, hen, hex, jet, keg, led, leg, let, med, men, met, net, peg, pen, pep, pet, red, rep, rex, set, sex, ten, veg, vet, vex, wed, wet, yen, yet, zed, zen

C-V-C Words with I

bib, bid, big, bin, bit, did, dig, dim, din, dip, fib, dig, fit, fix, gig, gin, hid, him, hip, his, hit, jig, kid, kin, kit, lid, lip, lit, mix, nib, nil, nip, nix, pig, pin, pit, rib, rid, rig, rim, rip, sib, sim, sin, sip, sis, sit, six, tin, tip, wig, win, wit, wiz, yip, zig, zip, zit

C-V-C Words with O

bob, bod, bog, bon, bot, box, cob, cod, cog, com, con, cop, cot, coz, dog, dom, don, dot, fob, fog, fox, god, got, hob, hog, hop, hot, job, jog, jot, lob, log, lop, lot, lox, mob, mod, mom, mop, nod, nog, nor, not, pod, pom, pop, pot, pox, rob, rod, rot, sob, sod, sog, son, sop, sot, tom, ton, top, tot, won

C-V-C Words with U

bud, bug, bun, bus, but, cub, cup, cut, dub, dud, dug, fun, gun, gut, hub, hug, hum, hun, hut, jug, jut, lug, mud, mug, mum, nub, nut, pub, pug, pun, pup, pus, put, rub, rug, rum, run, rut, sub, sud, sum, sun, sup, tub, tug, tut, tux, yum, yup


Exceptions

Some words look like C-V-C words, but aren't exactly. For example words that end in -AY and -AW are not really C-V-C words, because the -AY and -AW actually combine into a new vowel sound. The same is true for -OY words and -OW words. 

Words ending in vowel-R often follow the spelling patterns of other C-V-C words, but R changes the pronunciation of the vowel before it, creating a sound that is not exactly a short vowel. We call these new vowel sounds R-colored vowels.

More free English resources

 

Read Next

Silent E Words

C-V-C -E Words

Parts of a Laptop

English Vocabulary - Parts of a Laptop

Today lets learn English words to talk about parts of a laptop. As you may know, a laptop is a computer you can close like a book and take with you. Larger computers that you cannot take with you are called desktops, because they sit on top of a desk. A laptop sits on top of your lap (your lap is the upper part of your legs, which is horizontal when you sit!

The part of the laptop that you look at is called the display. Display is also a verb: your computer displays pictures, videos, and websites. Some people call this a screen, too. Screen is a more general word—your TV has a screen, there is a screen at the movies—but display is better for computers. On most laptops, there is an area around the display that doesn't show pictures, like a frame. We call this the bezel. In the middle of the bezel, above the display, you probably have a webcam: a camera that you can use on the web.

The part of the laptop with the letters is called the keyboard. A board is a flat surface, and this board is covered with buttons called keys; that's why we say keyboard! In front of the keyboard is a touchpad, which you can touch to move your cursor (the arrow on your computer screen).

On the sides of the laptop (not shown in this picture) you may have many different ports to plug in your power cord, headphones, or a USB cord.

More free English resources 

Parts of a Laptop Computer

Parts of a Laptop Computer