Contracted forms (short forms)
Learn contracted forms such as I’m, don’t and won’t, with full tables for be, have, do and modal verbs, and tips on when to use them.
In this lesson
Contracted forms, also called short forms or contractions, join two words into one shorter word. An apostrophe (’) replaces the missing letters, so I am becomes I’m and do not becomes don’t. We use contracted forms mostly in spoken English and in informal writing, such as messages and emails to friends.
Key point
A contracted form is a short way of writing two words together. The apostrophe shows where letters are missing: it is → it’s, will not → won’t.
What is a contracted form?
A contracted form is a grammatical term for a shortened word. It usually joins a pronoun or noun with a helping verb (she is → she’s), or a helping verb with not (is not → isn’t). Contractions are very common in everyday spoken English, so learning them will also help your listening.
Examples
- I’m a student. (I am)
- She doesn’t eat meat. (does not)
- We’ve finished our homework. (we have)
- They’ll be here soon. (they will)
- You shouldn’t worry. (should not)
Tip
Put the apostrophe exactly where the letters are missing. In doesn’t, it replaces the o of not, so it goes between the n and the t.
Contracted forms of be, have and do
These are the most common contractions in English. The tables show the long form and the short form for both positive (affirmative) and negative sentences.
Be: am, is, are
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am | I’m | I am not | I’m not |
| He is | He’s | He is not | He’s not / He isn’t |
| She is | She’s | She is not | She’s not / She isn’t |
| It is | It’s | It is not | It’s not / It isn’t |
| You are | You’re | You are not | You’re not / You aren’t |
| We are | We’re | We are not | We’re not / We aren’t |
| They are | They’re | They are not | They’re not / They aren’t |
Learn more about these forms in our lesson on the verb “be”: am, is and are.
Note
There is no short form amn’t in standard English. Use I’m not. In questions, English uses aren’t I?: I’m late, aren’t I?
Be: was, were
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I was | (no short form) | I was not | I wasn’t |
| He was | (no short form) | He was not | He wasn’t |
| She was | (no short form) | She was not | She wasn’t |
| It was | (no short form) | It was not | It wasn’t |
| You were | (no short form) | You were not | You weren’t |
| We were | (no short form) | We were not | We weren’t |
| They were | (no short form) | They were not | They weren’t |
Have and has
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I have | I’ve | I have not | I haven’t |
| He has | He’s | He has not | He hasn’t |
| She has | She’s | She has not | She hasn’t |
| It has | It’s | It has not | It hasn’t |
| You have | You’ve | You have not | You haven’t |
| We have | We’ve | We have not | We haven’t |
| They have | They’ve | They have not | They haven’t |
You will see I’ve, she’s and haven’t very often in the present perfect tense: She’s finished her work.
Had
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I had | I’d | I had not | I hadn’t |
| He had | He’d | He had not | He hadn’t |
| She had | She’d | She had not | She hadn’t |
| It had | It’d | It had not | It hadn’t |
| You had | You’d | You had not | You hadn’t |
| We had | We’d | We had not | We hadn’t |
| They had | They’d | They had not | They hadn’t |
Do and does
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I do | (no short form) | I do not | I don’t |
| He does | (no short form) | He does not | He doesn’t |
| She does | (no short form) | She does not | She doesn’t |
| It does | (no short form) | It does not | It doesn’t |
| You do | (no short form) | You do not | You don’t |
| We do | (no short form) | We do not | We don’t |
| They do | (no short form) | They do not | They don’t |
Did
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I did | (no short form) | I did not | I didn’t |
| He did | (no short form) | He did not | He didn’t |
| She did | (no short form) | She did not | She didn’t |
| It did | (no short form) | It did not | It didn’t |
| You did | (no short form) | You did not | You didn’t |
| We did | (no short form) | We did not | We didn’t |
| They did | (no short form) | They did not | They didn’t |
Contracted forms of modal verbs
Modal verbs such as can, must and should usually have a short form only in the negative. Will, shall and would also have positive short forms.
Can
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I can | (no short form) | I cannot | I can’t |
| He can | (no short form) | He cannot | He can’t |
| She can | (no short form) | She cannot | She can’t |
| It can | (no short form) | It cannot | It can’t |
| You can | (no short form) | You cannot | You can’t |
| We can | (no short form) | We cannot | We can’t |
| They can | (no short form) | They cannot | They can’t |
Note
The long negative form of can is written as one word: cannot. Do not write can not in normal sentences.
Could
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I could | (no short form) | I could not | I couldn’t |
| He could | (no short form) | He could not | He couldn’t |
| She could | (no short form) | She could not | She couldn’t |
| It could | (no short form) | It could not | It couldn’t |
| You could | (no short form) | You could not | You couldn’t |
| We could | (no short form) | We could not | We couldn’t |
| They could | (no short form) | They could not | They couldn’t |
Must
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I must | (no short form) | I must not | I mustn’t |
| He must | (no short form) | He must not | He mustn’t |
| She must | (no short form) | She must not | She mustn’t |
| It must | (no short form) | It must not | It mustn’t |
| You must | (no short form) | You must not | You mustn’t |
| We must | (no short form) | We must not | We mustn’t |
| They must | (no short form) | They must not | They mustn’t |
Will
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I will | I’ll | I will not | I won’t |
| He will | He’ll | He will not | He won’t |
| She will | She’ll | She will not | She won’t |
| It will | It’ll | It will not | It won’t |
| You will | You’ll | You will not | You won’t |
| We will | We’ll | We will not | We won’t |
| They will | They’ll | They will not | They won’t |
The negative short form of will not is irregular: it is won’t, not willn’t. You can practise will and won’t in our lesson on the simple future tense.
Shall
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I shall | I’ll | I shall not | I shan’t |
| We shall | We’ll | We shall not | We shan’t |
Note
Shall is used mainly with I and we, and mostly in British English. The negative short form shan’t is rare today. Many speakers say won’t instead.
Would
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I would | I’d | I would not | I wouldn’t |
| He would | He’d | He would not | He wouldn’t |
| She would | She’d | She would not | She wouldn’t |
| It would | It’d | It would not | It wouldn’t |
| You would | You’d | You would not | You wouldn’t |
| We would | We’d | We would not | We wouldn’t |
| They would | They’d | They would not | They wouldn’t |
I’d and wouldn’t are very common in polite requests and in conditional sentences: If I had time, I’d help you.
Should
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I should | (no short form) | I should not | I shouldn’t |
| He should | (no short form) | He should not | He shouldn’t |
| She should | (no short form) | She should not | She shouldn’t |
| It should | (no short form) | It should not | It shouldn’t |
| You should | (no short form) | You should not | You shouldn’t |
| We should | (no short form) | We should not | We shouldn’t |
| They should | (no short form) | They should not | They shouldn’t |
Might
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I might | (no short form) | I might not | I mightn’t |
| He might | (no short form) | He might not | He mightn’t |
| She might | (no short form) | She might not | She mightn’t |
| It might | (no short form) | It might not | It mightn’t |
| You might | (no short form) | You might not | You mightn’t |
| We might | (no short form) | We might not | We mightn’t |
| They might | (no short form) | They might not | They mightn’t |
Ought to
| Long form | Short form | Negative long form | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I ought to | (no short form) | I ought not to | I oughtn’t to |
| He ought to | (no short form) | He ought not to | He oughtn’t to |
| She ought to | (no short form) | She ought not to | She oughtn’t to |
| It ought to | (no short form) | It ought not to | It oughtn’t to |
| You ought to | (no short form) | You ought not to | You oughtn’t to |
| We ought to | (no short form) | We ought not to | We oughtn’t to |
| They ought to | (no short form) | They ought not to | They oughtn’t to |
Note
Mightn’t and oughtn’t to are correct but quite rare, and they sound old-fashioned to many people. Most speakers say might not and shouldn’t instead.
Here’s, there’s and let’s
| Long form | Short form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Here is | Here’s | Here’s your ticket. |
| Here are | Here’re (spoken only) | Here are your keys. |
| There is | There’s | There’s a bus at six. |
| There are | There’re (spoken only) | There are two shops here. |
| Let us | Let’s | Let’s go to the beach. |
Here’re and there’re are heard in fast speech, but in writing we normally use the full forms here are and there are.
What do ’s and ’d mean?
The contracted forms ’s and ’d each have two different long forms. Look at the word that comes next to find the meaning.
| Short form | Long form | How to tell | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| He’s | He is | Followed by an -ing verb, an adjective or a noun | He’s working. He’s tired. |
| He’s | He has | Followed by a past participle or got | He’s finished. He’s got a car. |
| He’d | He would | Followed by the base form of a verb | He’d like some tea. |
| He’d | He had | Followed by a past participle | He’d already left. |
The meaning of he’d already left is explained in our lesson on the past perfect tense.
Common mistake
Its raining today. → It’s raining today.
The dog wagged it’s tail. → The dog wagged its tail.
It’s always means it is or it has. Its (no apostrophe) shows possession.
Common mistake
“Are you ready?” “Yes, I’m.” → “Are you ready?” “Yes, I am.”
Do not use a positive contraction at the end of a sentence. Negative short forms are fine: No, I’m not.
When should you use contracted forms?
Use contracted forms when you speak and when you write informally, for example in text messages, chats, personal emails and dialogues in stories. In formal writing, such as essays, reports, job applications and official letters, it is usually better to use the long forms. For more examples, see the Cambridge Dictionary guide to contractions.
Summary
- Contracted forms (short forms) join two words, with an apostrophe for the missing letters.
- They are common with be, have, do and modal verbs: I’m, we’ve, don’t, can’t.
- Will not becomes won’t, and cannot becomes can’t.
- ’s can mean is or has, and ’d can mean would or had.
- Use them in speech and informal writing, and use long forms in formal writing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a contraction and a short form?
There is no difference. Contraction, contracted form and short form all mean two words joined into one shorter word, such as don’t or I’ll.
Can I use contracted forms in an exam essay?
It is usually better not to. Essays and other formal writing normally use long forms, such as do not and it is. In an informal email or a story with dialogue, contractions are fine.
What is the short form of “am not”?
Use I’m not. Standard English has no form amn’t, and in tag questions we say aren’t I?
Why is “will not” shortened to “won’t”?
Won’t comes from an older form of will. Today it is simply an irregular short form that you need to remember.
Does “he’s” mean “he is” or “he has”?
It can mean both. If a past participle follows (he’s gone), it means he has. If an -ing verb, an adjective or a noun follows (he’s going), it means he is.
