A List of Standard Contractions in English

A contraction is a word or phrase that's (or that has) been shortened by dropping one or more letters. In writing, an apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters.

We rely on contractions all the time in normal conversations. As Ben Yagoda says in The Sound on the Page (Harper, 2004), "In speech, there is an expectation that anyone who's not prissy or pretentious or is emphasizing a point will use [contractions] whenever possible."

Some people are under the impression that contractions should never appear in writing, but this belief is mistaken. The use of contractions is directly related to tone. In informal writing (from text messages and blogs to memos and personal essays), we often rely on contractions to maintain a colloquial tone. In more formal writing assignments (such as academic reports or term papers), avoiding contractions is a way of establishing a more serious tone.

Before deciding whether to use contractions in a writing assignment, consider your audience and your purpose for writing.

In the table below you'll find some of the most frequently used contractions in English.

Also see:

• Combining Sentences With Contractions
• Negative Contractions
• Practice in Forming Contractions in English

Standard Contractions in English