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Skill: Contractions

A contraction is a short way of writing two words as a single word. It is formed by combining two words but omitting one or more letters.  Always write an apostrophe (’) to show where one or more letters are left out. 

Read these contractions.

are not	aren't	We aren't going today.
can not	can't	We can't go today.
do not	don't	We don't eat candy.
does not	doesn't	John doesn't eat candy.
did not	didn't	The dog didn't eat candy.
have not	haven't	I haven't seen the show.
has not	hasn't	Sue hasn't seen the show.
is not	isn't	Jack isn't going to the game.
could not	couldn't	We couldn't go to the game.
should not	shouldn't	We shouldn't go to the game.
would not	wouldn't	We wouldn't go to the game.
ought not	oughtn't	We oughtn't go to the game.
must not	mustn't	We mustn't go to the game.
was not	wasn't	Tom wasn't at home.
were not	weren't	We weren't at home.

 

how did	how'd	How'd it happen?
who did	who'd	Who'd believe it?
why did	why'd	Why'd it happen?.

 

 

I will	I'll	I'll come home.
you will	you'll	You'll come home.
he will	he'll	He'll come home.
she will	she'll	She'll come home.
we will	we'll	We'll come home.
they will	they'll	They'll come home.
who will	who'll	Who'll come home.
it will	it'll	It'll be lots of fun.
that will	that'll	That'll be lots of fun.

 

I would	I'd	I'd like a peach tart.
you would	you'd	You'd like a peach tart.
he would	he'd	He'd like a peach tart.
she would	she'd	She'd like a peach tart.
they would	they'd	They'd like a peach tart.

 

here is	here's	Here's the morning meal.
how is	how's	How's the morning meal?
it is	it's	It's the morning meal.
that is	that's	That's the morning meal.
there is	there's	There's the morning meal.
what is	what's	What's the morning meal?
when is	when's	When's the morning meal?
where is	where's	Where's the morning meal?
why is	why's	Why's the President here?
who is	who's	Who's the President?

 

 

 

 

I have	I've	I've seen the play.
you have	you've	You've seen the play.
we have	we've	We've seen the play.
they have	they've	They've seen the play.
could have	could've	He could've seen the play.
should have	should've	He should've seen the play.
would have	would've	She would've seen the play.
might have	might've	Jack might've seen the play.
must have	must've	Jill must've seen the play.

 

I am	I'm	I'm a responsible student.
you are	you're	You're a responsible student.
he is	he's	He's a responsible student.
she is	she's	She's a responsible student.
we are	we're	We're responsible students.
they are	they're	They're responsible students.

 

let us	let's	Let's have a party.
madam	ma'am	Is this your dog, ma'am?
of the clock	o'clock	I can be there at one o'clock.
will not	won't	We won't fail today.

 

 

 

Dictation/Spelling Practice for Contractions

Remember contractions are single words formed by combining two words but omitting a letter or letters. An apostrophe (’) is always inserted where a letter or letters have been omitted.

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Read these sentences.

• It’s been a long day and I'm tired.
• I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to keep it.
• It’s okay, let’s be friends.
• I’m going to be there at 3 o’clock.
• I didn’t take your stuff and that's a fact.
• She’s sad that she can’t go home.
• Let's take a walk and we'll talk.
• You’ll have to tell her they'll be here soon.
• We’ll do that in a little while when you're finished.
• I’d like to go to the beach, but I don't have time.
• I haven’t had breakfast yet and I don't want Froot Loops.
• We’re going to SeaWorld where there's a whale show.
• We’ve had a good time today and we aren't a bit tired.
• We’re going on a field trip and here's the plan.
• You shouldn't stare at the sun because you'll go blind.
• We won't know who's coming to dinner until 5 o'clock.
• I wasn't happy about it, but I couldn't tell him.
• They mustn't believe they've upset us.
• Wouldn't it be nice if you'd take us to Hawaii.

 

Create two or three original sentences; include at least one contraction in each sentence. Your writing should reflect good penmanship, proper spacing, correct usage of upper and lower case letters, and correct ending punctuation.

Remember all sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation point (!).

 

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Please illustrate your favorite sentence in the space below or on the back of the page.