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Written by Teacher Amadeu Carvalho   
Wednesday, 26 May 2010 15:52
When we write short forms, we use ' (apostrophe)

In spoken English we usually say: I'm, you're, he's, we're, you've, didn't, isn't etc.
We also use short forms in informal written English.
            
I am I'm I have I've I had/would I'd I will I'll
he is he's he has he's he had/would he'd he will he'll
she is she's she has she's she had/would she'd she will she'll
it is it's it has it's it had/would it'd it will it'll
we are we're we have we've we had/would we'd we will we'll
you are you're you have you've you had/would you'd you will you'll
they are 
they're 
they have 
they've 
they had/would 
they'd 
they will  they'll

So 's can be is or has:

He's happy today. (he is happy today)
She's told him the truth. (She has told him the truth)

But  Let's = Let us

And 'd can be had or would:

I'd go to the concert if I had money. (I would go to the concert if I had money)
He'd never spoken to me before. (He had never spoken to me before)

We also use short forms after question words (what, where, who, how, etc.) and after that, there, here and after a noun:

Who's that boy? (Who is that boy?)
There's a bomb on the bus. (There is a bomb on the bus)
Who'll take care of me? (Who will take care of me?)
What color's your book? (What color is your book?)
My sister's working in Japan. (My sister is working in Japan)
John's gone out. (John has gone out)

Short forms are not used at the end of a sentence because the verb is stressed in this position.

Is she hungry? Yes, she is.
Do you know where he is?
Are they happy? Yes, they are.
Are you a teacher? Yes, I am.

Negative short forms:

is not = isn't
are not = aren't
was not = wasn't
were not = weren't		 do not = don't
does not = doesn't
did not = didn't		 have not = haven't
has not = hasn't
had not = hadn't
cannot = can't
could not = couldn't		 will not = won't
would not = wouldn't		 should not = shouldn't


I won't be here tomorrow.
I haven't seen him for ages.
he shouldn't work on Sundays.
we didn't come to the party yesterday.

Negative short forms for is and are:

he isn't or he's not
it isn't or it's not
you aren't or you're not
they aren't or they're not
Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 June 2010 11:44