Speaking fluently: using contractions
You’ve probably noticed that when people are speaking at a normal or fast pace, they often use contractions and connected speech.
Contractions are when two words are shortened and put together to form one new word, like this:
I am ? I’m
I am not ? I’m not
Sometimes there’s more than one way to contract:
He is ? He's
He is not ? He isn’t or He’s not. (2 ways)
Do you know the contractions for the verb to be? Look at the verbs below and say the contractions. Check your answers by hovering over the third column.
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to be |
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positive |
I am |
I’m |
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you are |
you’re |
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she is |
she’s |
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it is |
it’s |
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we are |
we’re |
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they are |
they’re |
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negative |
I am not |
I’m not
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you are not |
you’re not you aren’t |
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she is not |
she isn’t she’s not |
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it is not |
it isn’t it’s not |
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we are not |
we’re not we aren’t |
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they are not |
they’re not they aren’t |
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Open the Exercises and see if you can write and hear the contractions.