There are other contractions that are often heard in speech. Here are some of them: A contraction is an abbreviated form of one or two words (one of which is usually a verb). In a contraction, an apostrophe replaces the missing letter(s). Some contractions are: I am (I am), I can`t (can`t), how is (how is) and Madame (Madame). Finally, there are certain circumstances in which apostrophes are used to represent the omission of material in cases where they are not exactly contractions. First of all, some surnames of non-English origin are written with apostrophes: O`Leary (Irish), d`Abbadie (French), D`Angelo (Italian), M`Tavish (Scottish Gaelic). They are not really contractions because there is no other way to write them. In English, there are a fairly small number of contractions, and they are all made up of common words. Here are some of the contractions you`ll see most often: Placing the apostrophe here just doesn`t work. The apostrophe always replaces missing letters in a contraction.

There are no missing letters in the word everything. Y`all is a contraction of all of you. The missing letters are or, so the apostrophe takes their place – just after the y. It is an apostrophe. Knowing where to place the apostrophe may seem difficult, but there is a fairly simple rule that works with every contraction. Remember how we said that contractions consist of two words that have been shortened? The apostrophe replaces all the letters contained in the original words but not included in the contraction. However, if you`re writing an academic paper or something else that`s formal, you might want to avoid contractions. If you`re writing for school, it may be a good idea to ask your teacher if the contractions are okay. Such truncated forms are not considered contractions and should not be written with apostrophes. When you write things like “hippopotamus,” “bra,” “cello and phone,” so you don`t mince your words, you`ll look like an affected old duddy who doesn`t approve of anything that`s happened since 1912. Of course, some of these truncated forms are even more familiar, and in formal writing, you`d usually rather write Detective and Alligator than Tec and Gator.

Others, however, are quite normal in formal writing: even the most worthy music critic would call Ofra Harnoy`s instrument a cello; he would use the cello no more than he would apply the word omnibus to a London biplane. In any case, note that the apostrophe appears exactly at the position of the omitted letters: We write cannot, not *ca`nt, and are, not *are`nt. Also note that irregular contraction does not take its apostrophe between n and t, just like all other contractions that do not. And also note that it would have had two apostrophes because the material of two positions was omitted. It is not wrong to use such contractions in formal writing, but you should use them sparingly, as they tend to make your writing appear less than completely formal. Trying to make this document more talkative than intimidating, I used a few contractions here and there, but not as many as I could have used. But I advise you not to use the more familiar contractions as she would have done in your formal writing: these things, although quite normal in language, are a little too informal for careful writing. Contractions are common in language – so common that we don`t always take the time to pronounce them accurately, resulting in a certain contraction error that writers might make if they weren`t careful. In the language, we often speak could, should, and would have done so in a way that sounds identical to “could of,” “should of,” and “would be of.” But you should never be able, should or would never want to write. Remember, could have, would have and would have contractions that mean they could have, have and would have. Such contractions represent the most useful task that the apostrophe performs for us, because without it we would have no possibility of changing the difference between them and the shell, it becomes and hell, cannot and cannot, I become and sick, we are and have been, he would do it and we will lose, we will be good, and maybe a few others. Remember, this contraction means you + all or all of you.

What letters are missing? The apostrophe should go to the room where the missing letters belong. A few generations ago, there were a little more contractions in the use of English; These other contractions are now archaic, and you wouldn`t normally use any of them except in direct quotes from older written articles. Here are some of them, with their longer forms: Second, apostrophes are sometimes used to represent words in non-standard forms of English: for example, the Scottish poet Robert Burns writes gi` to give and a` for all. It is unlikely that you will need this device unless you cite such work. Some words that were contractions a long time ago are still written conventionally with apostrophes, although the longer forms have more or less disappeared from use. There are so few that you can easily learn them all. Here are the most common ones, with their longer original shapes: Let`s look at another example. You mean you will. Two letters are missing from this contraction in the word will: w and i. The apostrophe goes where these missing letters belong: between the you and the first l. For example, “do not do” is a contraction that is short for “do not do”; The apostrophe in “do not do” replaces the missing “o”.

Another example is “clock”, a contraction of “the clock”. An example of a less common contraction is “Jack-o`-Lantern”, short for “Jack-of-Lantern”; In it, the apostrophe replaces the missing “f” in “de”. People use contractions both orally and in writing. They are so common that movies and books often try to make the characters look old-fashioned or strange by never using contractions. It`s a bit silly because English speakers have been using contractions for centuries – but not always the same ones we use today. .