We have been talking all week about abbreviations. An abbreviation is a shortened word.
Usually we make an abbreviation by taking out some letters and putting a period at the end of the shortened word.
A contraction is a different type of abbreviation. Instead of making a shorter word, we shorten two words into one word. Two words get pushed together, bumping out some letters. We put an apostrophe into the space where the missing letters used to be.
Here are some common contractions:
can not = can’t
do not = don’t
have not = haven’t
should not = shouldn’t
is not = isn’t
More contractions:
he will = he’ll
they will = they’ll
I am = I‘m
you are = you’re
we are = we’re
A contraction is a type of abbreviation. In a contraction, we make two words into one word by taking out some letters and replacing the missing letters with an apostrophe.